Among the Ashes
by ScarletScriber
Summary: The Xavier Institute for Higher Learning has finally recovered after the Sentinel attack. However an unlikely alliance between Victor Von Doom and Bolivar Trask threatens not only the lives of the mutants within the school, but perhaps everyone on Earth. The X-men attempt to stop these two madmen before the universe is unmade! Ro/Lo, scott/Jean, OC/Rachel, Kitty/Bobby
1. Who wants NORMAL anyway?

_**A/N: This story takes place in the X-men Movieverse that I created for the stories, **__**"The enemy within"**__**, **__**"Rehabilitation"**__** and **__**"Pryde on the rocks"**__**. While it is not necessary for you to read all of these fics in order to follow what's going on, it will help to at least read The enemy within fic to get an idea of the characters and where the story arc is coming from. Elements of this story contain multiple references to the previous stories.**_

_**I don't own the X-men but I do own the character Aaron Carter a.k.a Alpha!**_

_**Read, review and enjoy! **_

**-Muir Island, room 108, April-**

He didn't expect the road to recovery to take as long as it had.

When he chose his escape route that day, he assumed it would just be a matter of days before he'd be back in action. Maybe weeks if there were complications.

Yet it took him weeks just to utter his first words, months to move his arms on his own and now he's happy being able to feed himself. In his frustration he felt like a child, except a child isn't aware of just how helpless it really is.

The fact he had gone from being one of the most respected and powerful men on the planet, to this left him depressed most days. Angry others.

His only comfort came in the moments when he was able to escape the bed that had become his home and return to the home that had been his for years.

"Are you here or _**there**_…?"

Moira's voice pulls him back to reality and he nods. "Still _**here**_… doctor…" Over the past few days his verbal skills had been increasing to the point where he no longer slurred his words, but he still had some difficulty speaking without pauses.

Moira smiles and begins reviewing his vital signs. "Well you're coming along nicely. The muscle repair program will help with your motor skills. Just have to convince that beautiful brain of yours to stop being so stubborn…"

"You should know better than anyone… how much of an uphill battle _**that **_is going to be…"

**-Xavier Institute for Higher Learning, grounds, morning-**

"Not all of us have superhuman stamina, ya know!" Tabitha complains, panting harshly.

"If you have enough energy to complain, Meltdown, you have enough energy to keep running!"

"Just be glad that he cut these morning jaunts short!" Paige counters, keeping pace with Tabitha. She, unlike the others, enjoyed Aaron's approach to fitness, but Paige Gunthrie was no stranger to pushing her limits.

After her brother, Sam, Cannonball to some, developed his mutant abilities, she worked hard to force her own to activate. Looking back she realizes that it was stupid to think that she could physically force mutant powers to manifest, but now that they have she's thankful that her previous devotion to physical fitness is paying off.

Once Aaron selected his team of mutants to lead and train, he began to include them on his morning runs. Because of his healing ability, ten mile jogs were nothing to him, but he learned that most people couldn't handle the distance or the pace he set. So he amended the distance to three miles.

That wouldn't be so bad if it weren't for the additional bonuses he added to the runs.

During their jog, Aaron would call a halt to the group and signal orders. There was no rhyme or reason to it, so you had to stay alert and ready. And since all his commands were silent, you had to watch where you were going and watch him. They didn't know it yet, but he was preparing them. He was getting them ready to undertake the sort of missions that Cyclops and Wolverine would send them on.

This morning there were no such interruptions and when they arrived at the back of the Institute he finally called them to a stop and faced them.

"Took it… easy on us… today… huh?" Roberto DaCosta asks between breaths. Out of the group he'd been at the school the longest but his training always consisted of him being in the Danger Room working on using his abilities as Sunspot. Aaron informed the group from the beginning that most of their training with him would be without the active use of their powers. A reality none of them were prepared for.

"Don't remind him!" Vanessa hisses from her spot, stretching out her hamstrings, her chalk white skin flushed from her exertions. As a shape shifter, Vanessa, code-named Copycat, had her own ability to heal quickly, though hers was not as elevated as Aaron's or his father Logan's. So these sprints affected her just as much as the others.

"Okay, stretch and cool down people!" Aaron announces, with authority. The truth was he is very proud of the progress his team has made the last few weeks. The unit he assembled not only works well together, but they genuinely care about each other. It's a bond that can make a strong team if managed properly.

Aaron reaches into the backpack that he'd been carrying and tosses a bottle of water to each of his team. They all catch them easily and he notes with interest their reflexes.

_**Is everything you do a test?**_

_**Yes.**_

Rachel looks up at her boyfriend smiling who smiles back. They often have telepathic conversations like this, a fact made easy by the psychic rapport they share. A bond made deeper by all they have endured together.

"Aar- uh I mean Alpha…" Rachel knew that Aaron preferred demanded even, that during any group training exercise or field mission that only code-names be used. "Is there any truth to the rumors about there being a crop of new students coming in this week?"

"Also, follow-up; any truth to the rumors about there being some guys in this group?" Tabitha asked unashamedly.

"Yes to both." Aaron answers taking a sip of water. "You ladies looking to mentor them or something?" There's just the barest hint of a smile on his face.

"Is _**mentor**_ a euphemism for bang? If so I could _**mentor**_ the crap outta somebody!" Vanessa asks high-fiving an equally excited Tabitha.

"I'm standing right here you know!" Roberto complains.

"I know, but is that supposed to mean something…?" Vanessa quips, enjoying teasing the Brazilian. Roberto had made it all too clear he was interested in her, but she just found him a little too immature at times.

"Hit the showers people! You know how hard it is to get breakfast if you're late…" He orders, glancing at his watch. At just after 6:30 there would be a mad scramble for food in just an hour and with all the students and faculty here, survival was predicated on being fast.

They don't have to be told twice as everyone heads into the building to the locker rooms.

Rachel hangs back a moment and notices a strange look on the face of her boyfriend. "You okay?" She reaches out with her mind but finds his walls up, something that didn't happen often.

"Yeah…" He shakes his head smiling. "Just something I have to take care of…"

She studies his face for a moment before Paige calls out to her to come on. Aaron doesn't move until she is out of eye sight. Then, sure that he's alone, he speaks. "Why are you here, Fury?"

The man with the eye-patch steps free of the tree line and out into the open. "Nice little team you got there… a little raw, but they have definite potential…"

"I really hope you're here to try and take one of them… it'd give me an excuse to make your face more symmetrical…" Aaron growls protectively. In his experience, Nick Fury only came around when he wanted something.

Fury holds up both his hands in peace, but one of them has a small thumb drive in it. "I come with a warning…" He holds out the drive to Aaron who just stares at him. "C'mon kid, whatever bad blood there may be between you and me; you gotta know I wouldn't be here unless I had to be..."

Gritting his teeth, he takes the drive. "Your_** help**_ has almost as high a price tag as your requests-"

"This time there's more at stake than you "_**owing me one**_", something you'll find out once you see what's on there…" Fury watches Aaron wrestle with his words, before finally tucking the drive into his pocket. "Walk me out?"

"Only to make sure you actually_** leave**_…" Aaron grunts.

"So how are things going with the shape-shifter?" Fury asks as they begin walking.

"She's a student here, under my protection, keep that in mind…" Fury didn't know that Vanessa was the shape-shifter he was talking about. Only that the girl in question had been given an _**"asylum"**_ of sorts here.

"She has a lot to answer for Aaron." Fury sighs frustrated. "How long do you expect me to be able to keep the right people from ordering me to bring her in to get answers?"

"Should have never told you about her…"

"Then how would you have stopped Richards from bringing his machine to the public?"

The trade off to keep Reed Richards from potentially destroying the universe was information. That information put the school back in Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D.'s cross hairs. It was a choice Aaron agonized over, but he felt it was better than the alternative.

"Simple, I would have just killed him, that rock pile he calls a friend and whoever else I needed to…"

"You're good kid, _**maybe**_ even as good as your father was, but not _**that**_ good…" Fury counters. For half a decade Aaron had done some pretty incredible work for the Black Fox division, but in Fury's eyes he was still just a teenager. A dangerous teenager, but just a kid nonetheless.

Aaron shrugs and keeps walking. He doesn't need to tell Fury that he had already worked out a way to take care of the problem if it came to that. He was done keeping him in the loop. "Here's the hole you slithered in through…" Aaron announces after using his senses to follow Fury's back trail. Once he was gone, he'd have Hank set up another defense measure here, since there was a gap in the security grid that had just been exploited.

Fury chuckles. "Yep, just like your dad… you ever get tired of playing house we could use someone like you with the big boys…"

This time Aaron laughs. "Between Banner, Stark and Barton, you've got enough type A personalities on that carrier. I'll pass."

"Just an invitation. Think about it. May help me forget you're harboring a traitor in your midst…" Without another word he disappears into the woods behind the estate.

**-Professor Xavier's Study, ten am-**

Logan and Scott aren't the least bit happy that Fury had been on the grounds, but they were interested in what he gave to Aaron. After making sure Beast and Forge got to work on the security gap, Scott ordered Logan, Aaron and Bobby to all meet in the study.

"What do you think is on it?"

"If Fury risked getting split like a pile of wood just to deliver it, it must be important…"

Scott nods, but is wary. "Maybe… but you said it yourself Aaron, Fury never does anything that doesn't benefit him. How does _**helping us**_, if that's what he's doing, _**benefit him**_?"

"I don't know Scott…" Aaron answers honestly. "I just know he has proven useful in the past; he led me here, he helped us recover you and the others, he helped me stop Richards from potentially ruining the universe-"

"That's a topic I think everyone in this room would like to know more about…" Bobby adds with a serious look. He didn't like the fact that Aaron still hadn't divulged that information to the three of them. After everything that's happened he didn't think there should be any more secrets.

"Is that how you two feel as well?" Aaron asks directing his attention to Scott and Logan. The two of them ran the school together now, as well as the two X-men teams and X-Force and the New Mutants squad. If they decided he had to tell them then he would.

Scott and Logan share a look, before Logan speaks. "There are going to be some things Aaron is going to be responsible for handling that we don't need particulars on, Drake. We give him certain latitude because his responsibilities differ from yours…"

Bobby doesn't like where this is going. "What do you mean? We both head up a team of mutants… I don't see the difference…"

"You haven't told him?" Aaron asks, slightly surprised. When Scott and Logan came to him with the idea of X-Force he assumed that Bobby had already been advised about the concept of New Mutants.

"That's a conversation for later," Scott interjects holding up the thumb drive. "For now, we need to focus on this."

**-Latveria, Von Doom Industries-**

"Sir, we have nearly all the components needed to duplicate Richards' mac- urk!"

In one fluid motion, the man known as Victor Von Doom grabs the engineer by the neck and begins squeezing. "Why would I, _**the most intelligent man on the planet**_, need to duplicate anything that elastic idiot has done? His path is marked with the stench of failure."

"I meant no- ukkk-"

"The level of my greatness is such that I can take a failure and create a success, which is what we are doing here. I trust I don't need to make my point any clearer?"

Unable to speak, the engineer just nods. Doom then drops the man unceremoniously to the floor. He walks away from the gasping man to center of the room. There is a huge control center set up there and he stops alongside the man operating it.

"I think that if you continue to _**make your point**_ that way, Von Doom, we won't have any grunts left to put this thing together…"

"Well then, Trask, for your sake, pray that no one else suffers a lapse in judgment during your time here. Because if we run short of workers, I will put that expensive manicure of yours to the test…"

"Do try and remember that we are_** partners**_ in this endeavor, Doom, I'm not one of your lackeys…" Trask offers slightly irritated.

He came to Doom with his idea because he had the knowledge to make things work. But Trask is supplying the schematics to get things off the ground. Latveria is not a prosperous nation, so Trask was also, by way of various back channels, supplying most of the capital for this as well.

"A lion does not _**partner**_ with a gazelle, Trask. It uses the animal for what it needs; _**nothing more**_." Metal clad arms fold across the chest of Doom and he looks at the schematics of the machine he is building on the display screen.

He had come a long way since his encounter with the Silver Surfer. He was again left for and assumed dead, but he survived as he always does. The recovery was still in progress, as wielding the power cosmic and then being unceremoniously stripped of it took its toll on him. But now back in his home country, back in the armor he originally created for himself, he feels more like his old self.

Which is why when he was approached by Trask several months ago, he was intrigued at his proposal. Yet he wasn't completely convinced of the wisdom of becoming involved with the man. He had his own agenda to follow, Trask, in his mind was simply a mildly intelligent racist. Neither quality was particularly appealing to Doom.

But, once Trask was able to deliver to him detailed, encrypted files from S.H.I.E.L.D.'s own database detailing the energy collector that Richards had been working on he bought in to Trask. If not the idea or the man himself, he bought into what he could get from him.

"If I am the _**gazelle**_ in this scenario, Doom, you would do well to remember that the lion often goes _**hungry**_ in his quest for food. In fact, more often than not, the animal he's able to catch is sick, lame or young. And I am _**none**_ of these things."

If Trask could see Doom's face underneath his mask, he would see that the doctor is amused. His voice gives none of that away. "I agree with you Trask, I apologize for my comment. I am merely… anxious."

Trask nods and smiles himself. "As am I, Doom… as am I…"

**-Xavier Institute for Higher Learning, Danger Room, 2am-**

They have no idea how long the four of them have been at this, but it has been an incredible sight to behold.

Cyclops, Wolverine, Iceman and Alpha have been running the "Sentinel Attack" scenario at level one hundred for at least as long as the half an hour they've been standing here.

Each man moves through the scenario with an uncanny ease.

Iceman, using his unique mode of transport, glides in between sentinel attacks freezing arms and legs and building protective walls for Cyclops.

From behind those walls, Cyclops fires his optic blasts with fury tearing off arms and legs, made brittle due to the subzero attacks. Leaving the monsters open for Wolverine and Alpha.

Both men climb up the metal beasts hacking and slashing at wiring, ripping out controls and rendering the sentinels helpless. Although Alpha doesn't have Adamantium claws like his father, his bone claws seem just as dense as that supernatural metal. Tearing through the skin of the sentinels with nearly the same fury. After wracking up a significant amount of damage the three Sentinels fall.

"Okay! Let's get ready for them to reassemble!" Scott yells out to the three men. All three nod and stand poised, but the program fades with an announcement.

**Scenario X, terminated, safety protocols re-engaged…**

"What the flammin'!" Wolverine sheathes his claws and looks up at the once again visible control room and sighs as he sees four women standing in their night clothes, obviously angry. "Cats outta the bag gentlemen…" Wolverine looks at the other three men accusingly.

"Hey don't look at me!" Iceman announces with a smirk. "These two guys are the geniuses who decided to date a couple a telepaths!"

**-Xavier Institute for Higher Learning, Storm's room-**

"When were you doing tonight, Logan?" Ororo asks in a harsh whisper. Though her room is fairly cut off from the rest of the mansion, she didn't want to run the risk of someone overhearing.

"Darlin, can we talk about this in the morning?" Logan asks toweling off his damp hair. After the thumb drive revealed that not only had Trask been released from custody, but that there was a security breach at S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters.

"It is _**morning**_ now Logan!" Ororo's voice climbs slightly above normal out of frustration. Once the four men began training in the Danger Room, both Scott and Aaron allowed their psychic walls to drop, which gave both their significant others complete access to their minds.

Normally that would not have been a problem, but given the two mens' strange behavior all day, their girlfriends were naturally on edge. They did not like the fact that the four of them were training in the Danger Room. At such a late hour.

On the highest danger setting.

With all the safety protocols disengaged.

"'Ro…" Logan reaches for Ororo collecting her in his arms. For a moment she wilts, as he presses his lips to her collarbone. He'd always had this affect on her, reducing her mind to mush. At once she could see herself writhing underneath him, walking the line between ecstasy and destruction.

"Do not-!" Ororo states firmly pushing against him to get space. "Do not try and distract me! I want answers!"

Logan chuckles at her defiant look even as the beast within him growls its displeasure. "You'll get them darlin'…" Logan promises, untying her robe. "Later…"

**-Xavier Institute for Higher Learning, Jean's room-**

"New Students get here tomorrow after noon, we should probably get some rest…"

"Yup."

"I think I'll have Bobby give the tour, kids seem to like him and he knows the place as well as anyone."

"Yup."

"I guess you and Betsy should perform the evaluations, since you'll both be actively involved in teaching them."

"Yup."

"Jean…!"

"Yup?"

"Come on! This is crazy! It was just a little late night Danger Room session. You know kind of a guy bonding thing…"

"First of all; _**you don't bond**_. Secondly, you are the biggest advocate of the safety protocols. Safety protocols you had _**disengaged**_. Third, Nick Fury was on the grounds of our school today and you hid that from me. You don't hide things from me unless there's a reason and I would like to know what it is."

"… can we go back to where you just keep saying "Yup"?" Scott Summers doesn't have any psychic abilities, but he has always had great instincts. His instincts tell him he may have just crossed a line.

"Scott!" Jean no longer tries to hide her anger and she turns fully to the man she loves. After Wolverine rescued her from the facility, all she could think about was the fact that Scott Summers was gone. And according to every mind on campus, she was the reason.

So when the X-men came back with her beloved in tow it was a blessing she truly wasn't prepared for. Now she senses a threat that could put an end to all that and instead of preparing her or allowing her to help, her so-called soulmate is shutting her out.

"Jean, there's nothing to be concerned about… we're just taking some extra precautions… we don't want another attack on us to go as badly as it did last time…" The pain in Scott's voice is evident, which takes some of the steam from the redheads anger.

"I thought that was the reason for the new teams, the added training, opening our doors to more mutants…"

"Yes, but as leaders, the four of us have to be doubly ready. We didn't want to worry you unnecessarily…"

"So what about Fury?" Jean asks watching Scott closely. He still had his psychic defenses up, which made her even more wary of what he was telling her. Still, the man had earned the benefit of the doubt with her.

"He and Aaron have… a history… there was some business that needed doing and Fury never provides a favor without asking one in return." Scott smiles at her warmly, a smile she can't help but return.

"Don't keep me in the dark again, Mister…" Jean demands caressing his face. She couldn't imagine her life without him and she didn't want to. Scott leans into her caress and all seems right again.

"Now…" Scott announces. "Let's go to sleep…"

"If you think you're getting off that easily, Slim, you're outta your mind…" Jean laughs naughtily shutting off the light.

Scott doesn't respond with words, his mouth is otherwise occupied.

**-Xavier Institute for Higher Learning, media room-**

"Bobby, you gotta tell me the truth; are the sentinels coming back?"

Immediately Drake wishes that were the only threat.

S.H.I.E.L.D.'s database houses a near infinite amount of data on everything. From Banner's experimentations with the Super Soldier formula, to Welling's NextGen 23 and everything in between. Fury didn't know what had been compromised only that a terabyte of data had been transferred before the leak was uncovered and plugged.

Fury knew that the most obvious threat was Trask, who thanks to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s extensive psi-shields had escaped the mind-wipe efforts of the X-men. With his recent release, it was easy enough to assume that he would begin his work anew. And he just may be armed with some of the most dangerous data known to man.

Why Trask was let go and where he was headed were two questions that Fury neglected to provide answers to.

"It's a possibility, yes. But it has _**always**_ been a possibility; we just want to make sure we are ready _**if**_ it does happen again." Bobby admits, taking a seat. He was starting to wonder if he was really up to this. The things he had to keep secret, the half truths and lies, things like that came easier to Logan and Aaron even Scott. He just wasn't as good at it.

"I still don't get the impromptu late night workout…" Kitty groans pacing. "If the threat weren't imminent then why bother?"

Bobby hated having to do this but the four of them had agreed the less everyone else knew the better. "You don't wait until the bad guys are on the front lawn to get ready, Kitty. You have to take every opportunity you can to stay sharp! And as leaders we have to be sharper than sharp!"

Since they'd known each other Bobby had only lied to Kitty once; when she asked him if he minded her dating Piotr. Before tonight that was the only lie between them. But Scott and Aaron were right; if the rest of the school got wind of this, the murmurs would start and so would the panic. Things have finally begun to calm down the last any of them wanted was to turn the school upside down again.

At least not until Aaron came back.

**-Xavier Institute for Higher Learning, garage-**

"Where the hell are you going!?" Rachel wasn't used to yelling at Aaron. During the course of their relationship they'd only really been in one fight. For the most part they got along perfectly well.

"Rachel, do you remember what I told you the day that I put you on my team?" Aaron doesn't break his stride as he asks her.

"Aaron…" Rachel chased him from the locker room, to his room to the garage. Taking turns between telepathically yelling at him to verbally yelling at him. Through it all he remained completely calm, which only served to make her angrier.

"_**Rachel**_…" He knew she would be upset, but he had bigger things to worry about, so did everyone else if he missed their window.

Rachel sighs heavily and uncrosses her arms. "You said that there was going to be a new dynamic to our relationship and you asked if I was sure I could handle it…"

"And that was…?" Aaron asks hopping astride the custom motorcycle Stark left as a gift his last time here. It should cut down the travel time tremendously. Considering the Blackbird was still being fixed, this would be the fastest way to Manhattan.

"Don't treat me like a _**child**_, Aaron!" Rachel shouts angrily.

"Don't _**act**_ like one, Rachel!" Aaron counters.

Without thinking Rachel raises her hand to slap Aaron, but he catches her wrist and pulls her to him. "I love you…" Aaron states, kissing her lightly on the lips, while she tries to free herself from his grip. "But there are things that _**need doing**_ that you don't get to be privy to… I understand the position that puts you in is not ideal… but it's necessary…"

She softens a bit and he releases her wrist. "Is it Aaron? Is it really necessary?" She didn't see why he had to leave right now, or why he had closed his mind to her. She didn't understand how things had gotten to this point in less than twenty-four hours.

Aaron nods solemnly and puts on his helmet. "You ready, Copycat?"

Vanessa steps from the shadows holding a helmet of her own under her arm. She looks from Rachel to Aaron and back to Rachel again. She doesn't know what to say to the young woman who has become her closest friend at the Institute.

She's actually just as confused as Rachel is.

Bobby came to her door just a half hour ago, told her to get dressed and to meet Aaron in the garage. When she tried to ask why, Bobby gave her a look that told her to shut her mouth and get ready. Which is exactly what she did.

With all of the skeletons in her past, she wondered if one had surfaced somehow. But she decided that if it had, she wouldn't run from it. Now here in the garage she's pretty sure whatever this is, has nothing to do with her.

"Will you be back soon?" Rachel asks, resigning herself to the fact that Aaron cannot be convinced to tell her more. From the moment she first met him, until now, he has been the most stubborn man she's ever met. It didn't stop her from loving him; it just made it difficult to _**like**_ him at times.

Lifting up the visor to his helmet he smiles. "How long do you think I could go without seeing you?"

Although it's not an exact answer, Rachel smiles anyway and telekinetically lifts his helmet off his head to give him another kiss. This one is long and sweet. "Hurry back then." Rachel adds once the kiss is broken. She then turns to Vanessa. "Watch his back, girl."

"I will." Vanessa answers without a trace of humor, causing Rachel to flirt with the idea of reading her mind. She decides against it, realizing that Aaron will tell her what she needs to know, only when she _**needs**_ to know it. He didn't function any other way. So Vanessa probably knows even less about what's going on than she does.

She watches the two of them ride away, not knowing where they are headed or if they will return.

**-Four Freedoms Plaza, 8am-**

"…actually sir, I'm not sure I do _**understand**_…"

"Just do it, Richards…"

"That didn't sound like a pleasant conversation…"

"There's a reason for that…" Reed cuts off the two way monitor and turns to his wife Sue. He had not been expecting a call from the head of S.H.I.E.L.D. first thing this morning and he definitely had not anticipated Fury's request. "Apparently, the same organization that _**forbade me**_ from continuing my work on the cosmic energy collector wants to reverse engineer my design…"

Sue raises an eyebrow curiously. "And I take it he didn't tell you why…?"

Reed shakes his head. "No. But if I had to guess, I'd wager that since S.H.I.E.L.D. appropriated the schematics to my design that they have since had some sort of infiltration and the plans for the machine are in the wind. Knowing the potentially catastrophic implications of someone other than myself attempting to duplicate my work, they expect me now to provide them with a stopgap. A way of stopping the device it is ever completed. Which theoretically I _**could**_ do…"

"Will you?" Sue asks curiously. She knows just how upset Reed was when S.H.I.E.L.D. stepped in at the eleventh hour and basically seized all his work concerning the energy collector. Given the uneasy relationship her husband has had with the United States government he didn't fight it. Still, that didn't mean that he was okay with the situation.

Once gone he began working on another device, similar to his original and was actually able to detect several flaws in the originals' design which he corrected. But even though S.H.I.E.L.D. inadvertently led to a breakthrough is his work he still was on shaky ground with them.

"If whoever has their hands on my work doesn't note the errors in my calculations, then they put the entire universe at risk…"

"So I guess our trip to Costa Rica…?"

"That's _**today**_?"

Sue laughs, amazed at her husbands' memory. He can recite Pi out to the thousandth place from memory, but he can't seem to remember he was supposed to take his wife on a vacation. "I thought the _**packed bags**_ at the foot of our bed might have been enough of a clue… your IQ is in the triple digits… or at least the way I'm dressed…" Sue whirls around and he takes note of her breezy summer dress. "Although it's spring in New York, it is still spring; _**in New York**_!"

"We can still go…" Reed murmurs, thinking to himself. "It's going to take me some time to work out the equations needed which I can do while you're asleep…"

"No deal." Sue demands adamantly. "You will take these next _**six days off**_ and enjoy a real vacation with your wife. Upon your return, what you chose to do with your time is your choice."

"Sue…"

"No negotiations, Richards! The car is waiting outside!"

**-42nd Street and Madison Avenue, 10am-**

"Big Bird is leaving the nest." Two eyes watch as Sue Richards drags Reed into a town car. He filled her in on the mission on the ride over and though she thought he had to be the craziest person she'd ever met, she found she liked that about him.

"Copy. Is bird flying solo?" His voice is a bit strained, but considering where he is right now, that's to be expected.

"Negative, mama bird en tow."

"Understood. Proceed to level 81 as planned."

"Copy." When she takes off her helmet, her trademark blue hair is gone, blonde stands in its place. Her chalk white complexion gains a darker more, normal hue. She strides confidently through the revolving doors of the plaza.

To anyone caring to look; she is Susan Richards, a.k.a. the Invisible Woman.

The first floor is open to the public so there is no security measures to override here. Aaron had planned this out to the last detail. Which made her wonder if in fact he had been planning to do this before today. The convenience of the Richards' family vacation couldn't be ignored.

Vanessa reaches the elevator without incident and as the doors close she smiles.

_**This is too easy…**_

**Floor desired?**

Aaron informed her of the layout of the building, she knows that the first seventy floors are basically just for show.

"Level 71 please." Her final destination is somewhere between the 81st and 89th floors, but in order to access any of those areas she must get past Roberta first.

The doors open up to a marble tiled reception area where a brown haired woman sits behind a receptionist desk.

"How may I help you _**Mrs. Richards**_?"

Vanessa is not fooled by the syrupy sweet voice of the woman seated there. She knows that the woman is a highly sophisticated deterrent against anyone who attempts what she and Aaron are here to do.

Any unusual or wrong response and _**"Roberta"**_ turns into a weapon of mass destruction.

"I still can't get you to call me Sue, can I Roberta?" Vanessa asks, smiling radiantly.

"My apologies,_** Sue **_your husband programmed me to be professional and thorough. I have your itinerary showing that you have a flight to Costa Rica that you are supposed to be on your way to catch in a few hours..."

_**Okay, so I passed vocal recognition software, now she'll be testing my vitals to see if I'm lying…**_

With an exasperated sigh, Sue walks over to the desk. "Yes well, my _**genius**_ husband has forgotten that he has some very sensitive experiments running on _**level 84**_ that cannot be left unchecked. He was going to come up here and shut things down himself, but I know if I let him anywhere near his lab… well you know how _**he is**_…"

Something like a smile crosses over Roberta's face and Vanessa could swear she relaxes. "I could always call up Johnny or Ben; they're both still here, right at home on level 91…"

_**Still testing me…**_

"What are they doing on the _**Negative Zone**_ level? That portal can be very unpredictable!" Vanessa shouts showing the appropriate amount of concern such an announcement would warrant.

With another test passed Roberta responds. "Of course, my mistake, Sue, they are both on _**level 74**_, but I could have them disable the experiments if you let me know how..."

"No, I got Reed to wait in the car only under the assurance that I wouldn't let either of the boys near his toys. You understand, of course?" The act was getting a little stale and Vanessa was beginning to loose her patience. How Susan managed to deal with this on a daily basis, Vanessa had no idea.

"Of course, the elevators are unlocked…"

"Well _**they will**_ _**be**_ once I provide my retinal and fingerprint scan…"

Vanessa can't help but feel a little bit smug as she strides over to the new set of elevators opposite the set she just exited. One of the most sophisticated machines ever created just got fooled by a girl who doesn't have her driver's license yet.

The doors close cutting Roberta off from view and the scanners come out. A retinal scan and fingerprint analysis later and Vanessa hears a familiar request.

**What level, please?**

"81. And disable internal security systems, authorization: Susan Storm Beta-Romeo-Alpha-Indigo-November twenty-five." A series of clicks and whirs later and Vanessa is assured that she has disconnected any additional security. Despite assuming the good doctors last name, she kept her original security clearance active. Reed Richards himself doesn't even know that.

"Scarecrow is in the corn field." Vanessa answers with a soft chuckle. Aaron promised her Cloak and Dagger so she threw herself completely into the role.

"Copy. Awaiting yellow brick road." Aaron laughs a bit himself.

With a soft whoosh, the doors open on the 81st floor and Vanessa steps out. She walks over to one of the windows and opens it. This high up there is a strong wind blowing. "You're green lit to take the yellow brick road."

Vanessa takes a casual step to the side and moments later a figure comes screaming in through the window. His landing is anything but graceful.

"Yikes! I thought you were supposed to be all agile and whatever?"

Aaron get's to his feet shakily, popping his shoulder back into place and cracking his neck. "You try an entrance into eighty-first floor of a building from the adjacent buildings one hundred and sixtieth floor. With only a set of gliders to navigate some pretty nasty cross winds and then you can talk!"

"Is your arm _**supposed**_ to bend that way?"

Aaron looks down at his left arm and pulls on it sharply with his right. Once back in place he heals almost instantly. "You ready for this?"

_**A/N: Hope you liked the start to the new story! Next up: Human Torch & Thing vs. Copycat and Alpha, Doom expands on his plan with help from an unexpected source! **_


	2. Playing with fire

_**A/N: Been seeing more traffic on the companion fics and the original story! Appreciate the love! Keep reading and reviewing! Kyle Denton is an idea originally conceived by Kaestal as a request to include the character in one of my stories. I love suggestions people!**_

**-Four Freedoms Plaza, level 83, 11am-**

"Seriously… this… is… _**boring**_!" Vanessa, having dropped her Sue Richards guise sits on the floor agitated. "When you told me your plan, I was all ready for some cloak and dagger… this has been way too much _**cloak**_ and not enough _**daggers**_!"

"Believe it or not, on an operation like this; _**boring is good**_…" After searching level 81 and 82 they finally found a terminal that they could access on the 83rd level. So now it was just a matter of getting out with the information they came for.

For Aaron this has been going better than he could have hoped.

Infiltration into the plaza had been smooth and thanks to Tony Stark's patented decryption storage device, the files they needed would soon be theirs. But when cracking a security system as tightly wound as this you needed time, which made boring, very good.

"We've got some time to kill…" Aaron sits across from his team mate, sliding his backpack from his shoulders. "Hungry?" The decryption device was still only a fourth of the way through the security firewalls. Aaron had wanted to bring Shadowcat along on this mission; her computer skills would have been invaluable. But both Summers and Logan shot him down. They didn't believe that the X-Force was ready for public consumption.

Vanessa grabs his pack and opens it. She tears into the wrapping of a turkey sandwich and begins eating. "This is _**not**_ what I expected when I joined X-Force…"

The situation made him think of his mother; most of the time the role of _**impatient soldier**_ was played by _**him**_ while she _**attempted**_ to teach him the value of boredom. He wished it hadn't taken him this long to get what his mother was trying to teach him all those years.

"Let's not forget, Copycat, _**I recruited you**_, you didn't _**join**_. And this is the world of covert ops; some times there are going to be missions where every second you're fighting for your life. But other times…?"

"A lovely picnic on the floor?" Vanessa snorts, before biting into a melon wedge.

Aaron just smirks before biting into his own sandwich. It was strange how comfortable he was getting with the girl, considering how their relationship began. "Cheer up girl, there will be plenty of other opportunities for you to get your action fix…"

"Promises, promises…" She groans. After all the training he put her and the team through she expected more, but deep down she wasn't sure if she was ready. The Sentinel attack on the Institute had been the most horrifying thing she'd ever been a part of. It left her a wreck of nerves for days after.

Despite that, she wanted to prove him and to the others, she belonged here. She wanted to prove that she was willing to fight for their ideals; ideals, which over the last few months have become very important to her.

She looks up to offer another bit of wit to the conversation, but Aaron has a strange look on his face. "What is it?" She asks warily.

Aaron sighs and stands up quickly, tossing the remains of their makeshift meal back into his bag. "You may be about to get what you asked for…" Before Vanessa can ask, she hears the telltale ding of the elevator and two voices. One is unmistakably familiar.

"… This is where the magic happens, sweetheart!"

"I thought that took place a _**few levels down**_...?" The woman giggles, and Vanessa's eyes roll up into her skull.

"You're up." Aaron whispers, disappearing from view, which is easy given the multiple places to hide in this area. Reed apparently never threw anything away. There were huge machines with unknown purposes all over the place.

"True. But there are all kinds of- Sis?"

"Johnny Storm, _**how many times**_ has Reed begged you not to come to his research levels?" Vanessa puts the proper disapproving sister tones in her voice. "Especially not to impress some runway model! He has very sensitive equipment up here!"

"We weren't gonna touch anything, sis, I promise- wait… what happened to Costa Rica?" Johnny takes a step in front of his date, a move Vanessa recognizes immediately.

_**He may look like a vapid pretty boy, but he's been at this hero thing long enough to recognize a potential threat.**_

If she doesn't say the right thing, her cover is completely blown.

"Reed needed me to come back and deactivate one of his experiments that he left run- nuh uh Mr.! No way! You don't get to ask me questions! Just take your little friend on back to your place!"

"You don't remember me, Mrs. Richards?" Johnny's date asks, obviously hurt.

"I can't be expected to remember all of my brothers…_** associates**_… dear. So I'm sorry if I don't remember you!" She'd seen the girl on a couple gossip rags and trash TV, but she vaguely paid attention to that sort of thing. Still, what she did remember about Johnny Storm was that he was a well known womanizer. She hopes to embarrass him from the room.

Johnny pushes the girl back into the elevator. "Go down to level 74 and get Ben!"

"Reed doesn't want Ben up here anymore than he wants you, Johnny!" She realizes he's on to her, or at least knows something isn't quite right here. Still, she hopes she can confuse him long enough to keep him from attacking.

"One thing about my sister, she never forgets a face…" Johnny announces, his body heating up quickly. "Especially not when she had dinner with them just last night! Flame on!" Instantly Johnny is engulfed in flames.

Vanessa laughs and raises her hands up. "Guess the jig is up, huh, hot stuff?" Vanessa drops her disguise, assuming her normal form.

"Whoa…" Torch eyes the woman before him appreciatively.

"Thanks, Torch. A woman likes to be appreciated for her looks…"

"I hate to break this up…" Aaron appears from the shadows. "But the young lady and I are on a bit of a deadline… so if you don't mind…" Vanessa looks back surprised to see Aaron wearing a mask that covers his whole face. It made sense, when she thought about it, no one could know that the X-men or anyone affiliated with them were involved.

"I do mind buddy…" Torch, startled by the Aaron's sudden appearance, regains his composure. "And unless you're in the mood for barbeque, you'll stay right where I can see you…"

Aaron nods towards Vanessa and she dives behind a console, while Aaron runs towards Human Torch. He hoped it wouldn't come to this, but they couldn't afford to be caught.

"Hey!" Torch fires a couple of warning blasts which Aaron easily evades. Realizing that his attacker is almost right on top of him he fires a blast square into the chest of Aaron. The force of the blast sends Aaron flying backwards. "I warned you!" Johnny, out of concern, heads over to where the young man fell, dropping his flame form.

"Shoulda kept those flames up matchstick!" Aaron drives both his feet into the Torch's stomach, forcing him backwards. In a second he's on his feet, while Torch is doubled over trying to collect his breath. As Aaron swings to finish him off, Torch re-ignites his flames pushing Aaron back with the sudden rush of superheated air.

Once on his feet, Torch stares as the damage he's done. Although Aaron's clothes are in tatters the burns he inflicted heal in rapid succession. "What the heck are you?"

Aaron doesn't answer; he just resumes his attack with a series of combinations, punching Torch faster than he can defend himself. It proves to be somewhat of a stalemate.

In this form, Torch's cellular structure is much denser than a normal human, helping him take more punishment. Aaron, although an extremely fast healer, hurts himself with every connected punch. The flesh of his knuckles may heal as soon as it burns off, but there is a cumulative effect that will begin to take its toll if he continues.

Driving Torch back with a hard left, he hopes it's enough to put him out.

It's not.

"Credit where credit is due," Aaron states taking a step back to recover. "You're a lot tougher than I would have given you credit for." Aaron knew that if he used his claws this fight would come to an abrupt end, but he promised he would never kill again. Especially not someone considered to be a hero, whose only fault in this is being at the right place at the wrong time.

"Well I'm through being your punching bag!" Torch fires a blast that Aaron manages to just dodge by ducking behind a terminal. The metal heats up to the touch and Aaron runs behind another set of machines.

"Status!" Aaron calls out to Vanessa, still evading Torch's attacks while leading him away from Vanessa. If Torch sees Vanessa as a genuine threat he doesn't act like it. He's only interested in the masked attacker.

"83%!" Vanessa answers from her hiding spot.

Aaron sighs. "Curse Reed Richards and his triple encrypted security files… if I see him again, I may kill him just on GP…" The device hadn't cracked Richards' security yet, which made Aaron wonder just how brilliant Mr. Fantastic is.

It was fortunate that once they were in, they were only looking for files containing certain key words, otherwise who knows how long this could take.

Aaron evades another blast from the Torch, who appears to be acting with a bit more restraint. He doesn't know where Aaron is hiding and he has to be careful not to destroy any of the equipment. And the fact that the place is a maze of machinery doesn't help his cause.

Deciding that a direct assault wouldn't work, Aaron stealthily draws Torch further into the lab. Torch gets turned around looking for him and ends up giving Aaron the opportunity he hoped for. With the chance to come up behind Torch undetected, Aaron knows he has to be precise. He'll have to slip him in a choke hold and hope his healing factor can hold up to the heat of the Torch. However, before Aaron can deliver the coup de grace, the elevator digs again.

"Johnny? Where are ya kid?"

**-Xavier Institute for Higher Learning, grounds-**

"Out for a stroll, Wind-rider?" It was still too cool for most people, but here was Ororo Monroe walking barefoot through the damp grass of the school grounds.

"You know this is my favorite time of year, Maker." Storm answers with a smile, allowing him to join her.

Whatever hate she bore towards Forge for his past misdeeds have been erased by the love of Logan. Besides that, during his time here, Forge has proven invaluable to the students. Not only had he helped Vanessa's brother Jeremy, but he finally managed to cobble together an inhibitor for Rogue.

"Yes, I do remember that…" If he were to be honest being here has been the rarest form of torture. The work he'd been doing was rewarding, he made much more of an impact here for the positive then he ever did in DC, but he still felt incomplete. And he knew the reason why.

There used to be a time, not long ago, when his successes were shared with the ebony skinned goddess along side him; normally between the sheets of her bed. Now he was her _**colleague**_ and nothing more. A fact that _**everyone**_ constantly reminded him of.

"How much longer to you plan to stay with us, Maker?" Storm asks, breaking the silence. It was a question he was often asked but coming from her it was especially painful. In the question lay the fact that she didn't want him to stay.

"Am I being shown the door already?" Forge asks genuinely hurt. He went from being one of the most beloved teachers here to a pariah, all because of an ill-fated romance. He wouldn't take back their time together, but it was clear few here were willing to forgive, let alone forget.

Storm shakes her head and laughs. "I just assumed that eventually the United States Government may wish to have their top weapons developer back. With Stark out of the game, you are the _**only name**_ in warfare now."

Forge sighs heavily. He had enjoyed the perks of being a military contractor, but being here reminded him of how much he missed teaching. "Perhaps I am looking for a new lease on life…"

Storm stops walking and turns to face her one time lover. "I doubt if you will be allowed to abandon your responsibilities in Washington so easily…" Storm remembers the difficulty that Hank had in leaving his own position within the U.S. Government.

"I guess…" Storm studies his face and notes with interest a look she'd never seen on it before; indecision.

"Do you not enjoy working in the Capitol?" She asks softly. She had seen how much he was enjoying being back and many of the newer students liked him as well, but she never considered he would return for good.

"I do…" Forge admits, wistfully. "But being back here has made me realize that I like the work I do here more… I like being back with you more…"

"Forge…"

"Don't worry, Ororo, I know the time for anything… _**romantic**_ between you and I is… over… that doesn't change the facts… here is where I _**belong**_…" Maybe if she could see that he had changed, that he valued her now, perhaps there would be a chance for more. But he couldn't do that from several states away.

Storm doesn't hide her apprehension. She is quiet for a moment, considering. Forge watches her with interest until she speaks again. "You will need to discuss that with Scott and Logan…"

Forge grimaces. "Why?" This was not the response he expected or hoped for.

"Because they are running the school together now and whatever they decide the rest of us will back." She wasn't sure about Scott, but she was confident Logan would not extend a permanent position to Forge.

"There you are girl!"

Both look up the hill to see Allison Blaire, walking over to them. "Why were you looking for me Allison?" Ororo is secretly grateful for the interruption; Forge was behaving uniquely human; which made her very uncomfortable.

Allison gives Forge a curt nod of acknowledgement before turning back to her friend. "Scott wants you and Jean to drive over to the airport and pick up two of the new students. The rest should be on their way here already Gambit and Psylocke left to get them an hour ago."

"It was pleasant walking with you, Forge." Ororo announces politely before allowing herself to be dragged away by Allison. Forge watches her go and feels the twinge in his heart he has come to associate with Ororo.

Longing.

**-Four Freedoms Plaza, level 83-**

"That… was not fun…" Aaron pulls himself free of the large computer console he was just thrown into. Since Thing had joined the fight, the tide shifted considerably.

Torch kept them at bay with blasts of fire and when they got close enough, Thing swatted them away like flies. The two worked well together, better than Aaron would have assumed.

"Quit laying around, Alpha!" Copycat yells before shifting into Sunspot's form and resuming her battle with Thing. In their grappling, Thing manages to get a hold of Copycat in a bear hug.

This had quickly become one of those good news, bad news situations.

The good news being that the download was complete; in their possession they had all the data they came for. The bad news being that they cannot return with it while the Human Torch and Thing stand in their way. And the longer this battle continues the more likely there will be interference from other interested parties.

Stopping to shift a few broken ribs back in place, Aaron unsheathes his claws. He realizes there is only one way to end this.

"Remix!" Aaron yells before he unleashes a bestial roar that comes from deep within him. He then charges straight for Ben Grimm.

Both Human Torch and Thing turn in disbelief at the charging mutant allowing Copycat to spring free of Thing's grip. "Scuse me handsome, you're being a little rough with the merchandise!" _**Remix **_is the call sign for a maneuver that they'd practiced together in the Danger Room. It involved switching combatants to gain the upper hand, although Vanessa didn't see how Aaron versus Thing gave him _**any advantage**_.

She flips away from Thing with ease and goes after Torch in the form of Colossus. It's her last "strong guy" option, since turning into the Hulk was far too taxing for her abilities.

Human Torch is aggravated by the fact that these two have given them so much trouble. "Lady, metal can melt just as easy as anything else!"

She realizes that, but she also realizes that even with half of Piotr's strength if she can land at least one blow it should be enough to take him out.

Out of the corner of her eye she sees Aaron evade the wild swings of Thing and wonders if he'll actually do it. They'd talked before about certain scenarios and in this one, things end badly for the orange brute. She had nothing against either of these men, but the bottom line was they needed to get out of here with what they came for.

"Yeaarrrghh!"

The yell is so desperate that both Copycat and Torch turn, but Vanessa recovers faster and takes advantage of the distraction to send Torch flying. He hits the wall hard and is slumped up against it motionless.

Ignoring the painful cries of Ben Grimm she runs over to Johnny to check his pulse.

_**Good. He's out cold but his pulse is still strong. Hopefully nothing's broken…**_

She wasn't sure exactly how much to pull her punch, but she figures since he's still breathing she guessed right. Aaron on the other hand took a different approach.

Knowing they'd never be able to match Thing's strength or durability, Aaron went for the only real vulnerable part of him; his eyes.

"Jeez!" Vanessa was unprepared for the painful and angry screams of Thing or the copper colored fluid draining from his eyes. Turning from the image with difficulty, she grabs Aaron's backpack and removes the drive from the only undamaged console in the room. The download had been complete for a while, but they had been too occupied to try and get it.

"It's temporary…" Aaron assures, sheathing his claws and grabbing the pack. Thing is still swinging wildly hoping to connect with one of the intruders. "He'll recover his sight."

"Couldn't we have just-?"

A look from Aaron kills her question instantly. If there was another way, they would have done it that way instead, is what he would have told her. And she knew it was true.

"So… do we just walk out the front door or…?"

**-High above New York-**

"Dey don' say too much, non?"

"I'm sure this is all very new for them, Gambit. We should give them time to adjust…" Betsy looks back at the four passengers sitting in silence behind them and wonders if they will adjust.

Cessily Kincaid had been living on the streets of Oregon for a few months before they found out about her.

Her parents, obviously upset over her transformation from normal teenage girl to silver skinned mutant, did their best to cope, but were ill-prepared. They tried to keep her safe by keeping her hidden, but they began to run out of excuses for the absence of the once vibrant girl. Cessily, not wanting to be a burden to her parents ran away from home.

Her parents however were undaunted and they search for her. After finding her living behind a twenty-four hour convenience store they contact Worthington Labs to see if there is any more of the so-called "cure" left. Thankfully, Beast still had connections within the government and was able to intercept the Kincaid's plea for help. He offered them an alternative.

Cessily was still trying to deal with her transformation and had not been doing well so far. Her entire body was completely composed of a substance comparable to mercury. It made her form malleable able to take any shape she could imagine. The drawback being that nearly all of her sense of touch was gone. Simple things like sitting made her situation all the more real. The feel of her skin was foreign to her now and it made her uncomfortable,

Joshua Foley is uncomfortable for a whole other reason.

His parents raised him to be hateful and distrustful of mutants, they championed the cause of human rights to an extreme degree. So when they discovered he was one they immediately attempted to cure him, trying several dangerous methods. Once that failed, his parents decided it would be better to put him out his misery rather than have him continue living as an abomination. He was able to flee, but with his golden skin, there was nowhere he could hide.

He couldn't turn to mutants for help, since he still held onto the beliefs of his parents, yet he couldn't turn to humans either. Especially not those within his home town. When reports began to surface about a homeless golden skinned boy wandering the streets, Logan suggested that they investigate.

After several attempts, Betsy was able to convince him to join their school under the condition that they attempt to find a way to "cure" him. This made his ability to heal virtually anything except his own mutation, the definition of irony.

Although she didn't understand why anyone would want to be cured of such an amazing gift, she gave her word.

Now, though as Joshua sits between the silver girl with red hair and a black man covered in silver tattoos fighting his feelings of contempt.

The boy with the tattoos introduced himself as Nezhno Abidemi and hasn't spoken since. All that Betsy and Gambit know about him is that Storm specifically had them seek him out. Bringing him all the way from Wakanda to the United States, he was their first stop of the day. Thankfully the new Blackbird made trip from the warrior nation of Wakanda to Oregon quick.

The last member, sitting in the seat behind the three, is the most normal looking of the bunch, Kyle Denton. The only significant feature about him is his shockingly orange hair.

You would never know it from looking at him, but he could potentially be the most dangerous mutant aboard the Blackbird.

Unlike the others, he didn't come here to learn how to use his powers. And he knows that no matter how much wants to be rid of them all together, that such a thing isn't possible. All he wants is a chance to be normal again.

**-One year ago, San Francisco, California-**

"I… don't want to…"

"It's necessary…"

"No it isn't!" Kyle Denton loves his father but the man squatting next to him, is_** not**_ the same man who taught him how to throw a curve ball. That man would not be asking him to do something so distasteful. "It's wrong!"

"You're being ridiculous!" Stephen Denton, formerly Kyle Malone, has been through a lot in his forty-two years. When he was just twelve he was abducted right outside of Kensington Middle School. All because a man named Miles Warren took an interest in him.

Or more accurately; his genetic make-up.

Apparently something within his own genetic code made him the perfect guinea pig for Warren's experiment. Stephen never learned how Miles' had determined this or what specifically made him special. All he learned about his being_** "chosen"**_ came from the Doctor's words to him during his stay at the secret facility.

Unlike many of his contemporaries, Miles Warren believed in enhancing the _**human race**_, instead of weaponizing the already dangerous mutant population. Stephen was to be a weapon against the threat of mutants; a deterrent against them. It was the reason Miles had often called him _**savior**_ when the other scientists weren't around.

After enduring years of experimentation the then fifteen year old managed his escape, using the abilities he had been given. He knew he couldn't return home if he wanted his family to be safe, so he left his home in Connecticut and fled all the way to California. There under the assumed identity of Stephen Denton he attempted to live a normal life. Even though he never returned, he kept tabs on his former family, happy that they managed to move on.

So did he.

In time he forgot about his powers, buried the pain of his past and found a woman to love who bore him a son. Who, out of nostalgia he named Kyle.

Even when mutants began to show up in greater numbers, fighting in the streets, he didn't feel compelled to get involved on either side. Despite the fact that with his abilities he was perfectly suited to bring balance to the conflict, he stayed neutral. Believing it wasn't up to him to decide the guilt or innocence of others.

When he lost his wife in a car accident, an accident caused by Magneto, something within him broke. Stephen decided it was up to him to do something about it; just as Miles Warren had intended.

He began his quest in secret. Absorbing the abilities of the homeless he found wandering the streets. He was surprised to find many of the people he consumed had abilities of their own. Every day he was stronger and faster and every day his hunger grew more powerful.

When he first started he took one a month; now he was up to one a week.

"I don't like doing this dad…" Kyle was a normal kid up until two years ago and his father was a normal dad. Things had been tough when his mother died, but as far he could tell his father hadn't changed much.

He was wrong.

When he nearly caused the death of an opposing player during an exhibition soccer match, Kyle knew he wasn't normal. What he didn't know is that his father had been expecting, hoping, for him not to be.

The incident was explained away as exhaustion and the boy recovered, but Stephen explained to his son just what his gift would allow him to do.

To become.

"This will make you stronger… and strength is what matters." Stephen whispers to his son. "Strength will let you protect the ones you love…" When his son manifested the same abilities as him he briefly considered keeping him away from his mission. It didn't last long. What father doesn't want his son to join in the family business?

**-LaGuardia Airport, United Airlines pick up lane-**

"You've been quiet the whole ride over…"

"Hmmm…? Oh yes, well I guess I'm a little distracted…"

Jean Grey nods with understanding. "I am too…" She didn't know all the details, but she knew that a visit from Nick Fury could not be good. And an impromptu late night Danger Room session was even worse. Still, she trusts Scott and the others to have their best interests at heart, so if there was something they need to know, they'd know. But there was a part of her that was very close to telepathically pulling the information out by force. "But we better put on our welcome faces for the kids…"

"Ugh… are we _**so old**_ now that we refer to all new students as _**kids**_…?" Ororo sighs looking into the passenger side vanity mirror.

Jean chuckles softly at her friend. "If they still have "teen" at the end of their age then… there they are!"

Ororo turns to see the two boys exit and remarks at the stark contrast between them.

The dark-haired boy, Kevin Ford was sullen and distant, keeping his hands in his pockets avoiding any eye contact. Given the nature of his abilities that was to be expected, his powers would always keep people apart from him. With a touch, organic mater of any kind was rendered to dust and much like Rogue, he had no control over it.

His powers manifesting in the death of his father only add to his tragic back story. So it's understandable that Kevin has little to be smiling about.

The blonde, Douglas Ramsey is the opposite full of energy and happiness, smiling as an Asian couple next to them spoke to each other in their native language.

One had a gift that drew him closer to people, the other one that would always push people away.

"Douglas? Kevin?"

The two boys look up in unison and make their way over to the car. Neither is carrying much in the way of luggage.

"Traveling pretty light…" Jean remarks, as she pops the trunk to allow them to toss their luggage inside.

"Not much need for too many things, Professor Grey," Douglas answers grabbing Kevin's luggage as well as his own. "I figure once we settle in we'll be pretty busy right Kev?"

Kevin only nods and takes a seat in the back, but Douglas is undaunted. "Yeah, I know I can't wait to take a look at the type of systems you have running up there!"

When he learned that his mutant ability of linguistics extended beyond just spoken language but also included _**zeros and ones**_ he became obsessed with learning more. He exhausted all of the resources available to him and had been considering government work before he received a phone call.

Tony Stark had seen some of his work with programming code and wanted to meet him. Once Stark learned that his abilities were due to his mutation and not inherited genius, he put a call in to the Institute. Douglas didn't hesitate.

"How was the flight, Kevin?" Ororo asks, trying to draw the young man out.

Kevin shrugs. "Fine I guess…" Knowing his history, Jean doesn't push it further. She knew from experience that Kevin wouldn't be healed in a few polite conversations.

Jean pulls away from the airport and Ororo turns in her seat to fully face the two boys. "Your first time in New York, isn't it?"

"Seen one city, seen them all, right?" Kevin answers nonchalantly. The fact was he had spent his entire childhood in a small town in Ohio, dreaming of seeing a big city. That was before his touch destroyed his family and ruined his life.

"No city is like New York though…" Douglas adds staring out the window as the scenery passes by. "Opportunity is practically around every corner…"

**-Latveria, Von Doom Industries-**

"All of the major components have been completed, sir."

"Excellent." Trask claps the young engineer on the back. Since this project began nearly a decade ago he had a long term vision in mind. The incident at the Institute only reinforced his resolve and with the data that was recovered from that night he vision was closer to fruition.

"I imagine you will be bringing in your data at some point soon?" Doom's voice bellowed behind him and he fought the urge to jump. Trask would never admit it to the man, but the good doctor intimidated him.

"Not yet," He answers keeping his voice as level as possible. "We'll need to confirm Richards' device actually works and then we'll need to find a way to miniaturize it… my files should be the last thing added…" He didn't want to reveal too much of his hand too soon. Trask was well aware of what Doom did to people who lost their usefulness.

"Ah… of course…" Doom nods, turning to the machine they built. "I will need time to make sure all the calibrations are correct and make adjustments where these fools may have bungled things…" Doom ran his across the metal surface of the machine almost greedily. Doom, like many scientists hated the fact that Tony Stark had managed to develop a perpetual energy source as powerful as the Arc Reactor without sharing it. Even Doctor Otto Octavius, one of the few men Doom respected, had failed in that endeavor.

"How long do you see that taking?" Trask asks eagerly. Since his release from S.H.I.E.L.D. custody he had tracked down all of his partners in the Mastermold Initiative; none of them had _**any**_ memory of the work they'd done on the project. When he also discovered that they had destroyed all files pertaining to it as well, he knew that his time was short. Their situation had the work of mutants written all over it and if they found out that he retained him memory and his files, he was cooked.

"Patience, Trask." Doom counters with a calm reassuring voice. He knew the concerns that Trask had. "The psychic dampeners within this facility will protect you from any… unwanted intrusions, just as it does me. We want to get this right, do we not?"

Trask nodded. "Of course…" He did want this to be right. With a portable renewable energy source powering his designs, coupled with all the data on the mutants he had uncovered over the years, if executed correctly, his plan was unstoppable. He was sure people would protest at first, but after San Francisco those protests would not carry as much weight.

"Then we will."

Both men turn to face the beautiful brunette walking over to them. Underneath the iron mask, Victor smiles.

His mother believed in luck, in forces outside of her control governing her life, but Victor never bought into that. He believed one's life could be shaped by pure force of will and determination. But every once and a while, when something truly fortuitous came along, he had to acknowledge the possibility. If not the reality.

Standing before him now, was something of pure providence.

"I hope we all prove worthy of your confidence, my dear…" Trask reaches out to kiss her hand. The woman manages to keep from rolling her eyes at Trask's obvious ogling. Since she came to join this cause he had made in clear what he wanted from her and it wasn't her expertise in the field.

"Restrain yourself, Trask…" Doom warns in a low tone, which the woman hears despite all the noise in the lab. Doom was a man of power and presence, something she has always been attracted to.

"It is alright Doctor," she counters with a warm smile. "He is _**harmless**_." That simple statement causes Trask to turn beet red and excuse himself awkwardly.

"I do believe you have embarrassed the man…" Doom notes with a chuckle. He has to admit, he liked her almost right away. Susan Storm, or Richards as she was now called, was a lioness, content with being a kitten. This woman would never be anything less than she was. Nor would she allow anyone to think so.

"It was bound to happen at some point…" She remarks moving in close to the Doctor. "Better I embarrass him now, then you _**kill him**_ later…"

"I'll likely still kill him…"

"But not as painfully…" She smiles nastily, teasing her fingers around the face plate of his armor. She'd never seen him outside his armor, but she knew of his feelings for her. Despite her initial intentions she was beginning to feel similar.

"Were you able to secure the cooperation of our friend?"

"Of course," She answers confidently, leaning against the machine. "You can expect him in three days time…"

"I never would have imagined_** he**_ would help _**you**_…"

"You of all people should know how persuasive I can be…"

**-Xavier Institute for Higher Learning, evening-**

"You can't be serious!"

"Do I look serious?"

"Scott trusts me enough to run the X-Force the way I see fit; so why do you _**always **_question everything I do?"

By the time Aaron and Vanessa returned from the headquarters of the Fantastic Four, most of the adults were busy helping the six new students acclimated to things. Because of that, Aaron had been able to sneak back in unnoticed and was relaxing in his room when there was a knock on his door.

He knew who it was immediately, hard to hide from his enhanced senses. Wolverine, co-leader of the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning and leader of the X-men Black Squad, has now assumed a role completely foreign to him; concerned parent.

Logan wanted Aaron to settle into the school and try being a normal teenager for once in his life, but Scott couldn't see past his son's skills. Logan grudgingly accepted Scott giving him the assignment, but planned on watching him every step of the way.

Tonight was an example of that.

After Aaron detailed to Logan the mission he and Vanessa completed, Logan let his displeasure be known.

"Deadly force is something we don't use lightly! And we definitely don't use them against allies!" Logan didn't approve of Aaron's solution to the Ben Grimm problem.

Aaron snorts. "What makes _**them**_ our allies?" Aaron shouts bitterly. "Besides, Grimm's eyes will heal no problem!" Aaron didn't consider the Fantastic Four to be enemies, but he certainly didn't see them as allies. They made it very clear that not only were they not mutants, but they also took a Switzerland like approach to the whole issue.

"Not the point kid-"

"Then what is the point?" Aaron asks folding his arms over his chest. He was not going to be intimidated. "I made a decision based on the available options, I weighed the consequences and I did _**what I had to do**_. Grimm wasn't exercising restraint when he nearly crushed Vanessa or when he was throwing me into two ton metal consoles!"

Logan is undaunted. "What if you slipped and those claws went into his brain? Did you consider that?"

"I. Don't. Slip." Aaron announces calmly. "I may not be as experienced as you are in using my claws, but good enough to avoid lobotomizing a man!"

"That's what worries me right there..." Logan drops his hands to his sides and approaches Aaron. "You're cocky. You think you can handle _**every **_situation with no problem. And you're skilled kid, don't get me wrong. Given time, you'll leave all of us in the dust. If- _**if **_you ever decide we have _**anything**_ worthwhile to teach you. If you decide to listen to anyone else's voice besides your own..."

"That's unfair…" Aaron whispers, he is genuinely upset now. "I _**listened**_ to Vanessa when she told me she had no idea about my mother, I _**listened**_ to you when you told me _**not**_ to kill Welling, I've been doing nothing but listening since I got here! But you're the one refusing to _**listen to me**_! So hear me on this; either remove me from team leader of the X-Force, or let me run the team my way!"

For a long time, both men are silent. Aaron is waiting for Logan to say something, Logan trying to figure out how to get his point across.

"My concern…" Logan takes a breath and begins. "Is that the more you have to make the kind of decisions you made today, the closer you come to crossing a line that we don't cross here. And if you do, then I would have to consider what that means for your status here at the school… I don't want to be in that position, because you won't be my son then, you'll be someone who's a danger to this school… to the kids here…"

Aaron lets out a disappointed sigh. The two of them had gotten close over the past few months, but there was still a long way to go to make up for eighteen years. If Logan knew him the way his mother did, he would know that he never did anything haphazardly. He would know that if Aaron did cross a line, it would be because he fully understood the implications involved and he saw no other alternative. But it didn't matter how many times he explained that to the man, Logan would only understand it, if he saw it himself.

So far, all Logan saw was a highly trained, highly volatile mutant with a chip the size of the Appalachians on his shoulder. That may have been who Aaron was when he first came here, but he hoped his father would see it was not who he was now.

"Consider me fully warned and aware." Aaron states coolly, trying to keep his voice even. "I'll provide you and Cyclops with a detailed brief of the mission tomorrow…"

"Aaron…"

"I get it, Wolverine." Aaron moves past his newly found father. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to check and see if there is anything left to eat downstairs…"

**- Xavier Institute for Higher Learning, Media room-**

"So this is our media room…"

The new students were broken up into groups of two and assigned to a peer to show them around after dinner. Tabitha drew the short straw in her opinion, although she had to admit; pickings were slim.

Rogue got the two Golden boys; one with golden hair, the other with golden skin. Piotr, got the other two, quiet and quieter; A.K.A. Kevin and Nezhno.

This crop was nothing like the group she came in with. Tabitha, Bobby, Theresa and Danielle had more than enough personality to make up for Rahne and Amara's lack of it. Still those two were party girls compared to the two Tabitha was showing around.

She had to show around the two most depressing kids she'd ever met. They didn't talk much, didn't ask questions, and looked like they might start crying at any moment. Tabitha wonders how they managed to get through orientation and dinner without slitting their wrists.

She didn't know what the big deal was.

The girl, Cessily, had the coolest looking mutation she'd ever seen. The other guys obviously approved by the looks they kept throwing her, but the girl was completely oblivious to it. Tabitha had no idea how she was going to get around the school by herself, considering throughout the tour Cessily never looked up from her shoes.

The boy, Kyle, was equally morose, for no good reason as far as she could tell.

Sure the kid had some strange hair, but he wasn't monstrous looking. In fact, with his piercing green eyes and the freckles across the bridge of his nose, some might call him attractive.

"Cool…" Cessily mutters, looking up briefly.

"She speaks!" Tabitha exclaims laughing. "For a moment I thought silence was your mutant power!" Cessily cracks a brief smile. "And she smiles too! Next thing you know you'll be completing full sentences in no time!"

This time, to her delight both Kyle and Cessily laugh.

_**Tabitha, I do believe this is progress…**_

**-Muir Island, rehabilitation room-**

"You know, you could call them…" Moira stands in the water watching her patient finish up his second lap. He's continuing to make great progress.

"Moira…" He stops at the edge of the pool where Moira is waiting for him. He's known many people in his life, but few he considers as much of a friend as her.

"Stranger things have happened than you coming back from the "dead" in another man's body!"

Charles Francis Xavier couldn't disagree with her. He himself had been witness to things that would drive most mad. But he was more than apprehensive about any sort of homecoming situation.

One of the last times he taught his students, he spoke to them about the morality of taking the body of a man who was in an incurable vegetative state. Many of his students argued that life, in whatever form, was still precious. Some felt that the quality of life should come into play when making such a decision. At the time, he didn't share his opinion with the class.

What he couldn't tell them or Moira, was that before Jean Grey, he would've fell into the _**former**_ group, not the latter.

Desperation, fear, his own mortality, all led him into this body he now inhabited. His guilt over the decision is what held his progress back up until now.

He decided that he had already taken over this man's life, if he wasted it in the same bed that would be an even greater sin.

"We've discussed this; some things need to be revealed in person…" Charles pants between breaths of air, resuming his swim. "So help me get back home, doctor…"

_**A/N: Hope Kaestal enjoyed the intro I gave for your character idea! Kyle Denton will have a role within the series that you may not expect! Next up things get interesting as the "brunette" reveals who she really is (many may have an idea already!) and Logan and Storm go on a double date?**_


	3. Who's says blondes have more fun?

_**A/N: At last right?**_

**-Talia's Steakhouse and Bar, 1pm-**

"A little public, isn't it?"

"Scared of being seen with a _**white girl**_, Forge?"

Forge ignores her attempt to take a stab at his heritage and sits down. His initial excitement over getting her call has faded some, but he's still curious enough to put up with a little rudeness.

"I'm surprised you said yes to this meet, Forge." The brunette announces as he sits down. She's dressed casually in a pair of jeans and a light blue sweater. To anyone looking she appears as nothing more than another patron of the establishment. Forge, however stands out. Not just because of his Native American heritage, but because of the glimpses of metal peeking from his pants leg and his sweater sleeve.

Cybernetic enhancements that became necessary due to his life.

The term; self-made man, has never been more apt.

"I didn't know I was _**allowed**_ to refuse a request from S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Maria Hill… although I am curious as to why you asked for me at all…" There is just a hint of bitterness and triumph in his tone. He has an idea why he is here; but he wants her to admit it out loud.

Maria Hill laughs and sips her tea. Before she can comment the waitress comes over to them to take their order. Once that's done she speaks: "Are we still raw about not being included in the Phase 2 project?"

Forge was in fact more than just raw about it.

Within the United States Defense Department he has a very high security clearance; a security clearance that he _**thought**_ left no doors closed to him. He knew about Worthington Industries weaponizing the cure, he knew about the discovery of the Teseract and the beings which left it here. But he was not included in the Phase 2 project.

He considered it an insult that he was never even consulted, but he can't let her know that. Not now that she may be offering him a way in. "No, simply confused as to why I wasn't included on initial the development team…"

Maria waves her hand and leans back. "That stuff was too _**low level**_ for someone of your genius, what we're working on _**now**_ though… that requires your unique… touch…" Maria reaches across the table and caresses his non-bionic hand warmly.

"I thought-" Forge notices Maria's attentions and removes his hand from her grip. "Maria, Cairo was a mistake…"

"Hmmm… I guess so was Philadelphia, Athens _**and**_ Montana…?" Maria laughs again light and airy. "Don't misunderstand the gesture, Kemosabe; all I want is that _**brain**_ of yours. I've had my fill of _**everything**_ else." She reaches into her bag and pulls out a tablet handing it to Forge. "My gift to you…"

Forge takes the device and begins looking at. He is surprised by what he finds. "This is-"

"Yes it is." Maria answers for him watching him thumb through the various screens, before taking it back from him. "And we need _**you**_ to make this into-" Maria scrolls through a few pages in the file to a photo of Tony Stark's built in Arc reactor. "…this." She hands it back to him and watches his reaction.

Although she is confident that he'll take the job, she isn't quite as sure he will turn over what she requires as trade. What she's counting on is his natural desire to prove how much smarter he is than everyone else to secure his cooperation. Arrogance has proven to be the most easily manipulated personality trait in her experience.

Forge looks over the schematics again greedily, his mutant gift already giving him ideas on how to proceed. "This will be difficult to do in secret… given my current living arrangements…"

"Ah yes… How is playing house with your white haired goddess again?"

Forge frowns. "Ororo is with _**Logan**_ now… I'm sure you knew that already…"

"Still? I do recall something about her rutting quite vigorously in the woods around the estate. Guess I assumed you were the… _**rutter**_…?"

Forge obviously upset, moves to stand, but Maria grabs his hand. "Forge,_** sit**_." She waits for him to resume his seat and leans forward. "Don't be rude." The waitress returns with their food and with her warmest smile she thanks the woman and waits for her to leave.

Forge sits across from her, watching her eat her salad nonchalantly. "Rudeness is such an ugly quality in such a handsome man…"

"Take care how you speak to me, Hill. You may need me; but _**I don't**_ need you…" Forge offers menacingly before taking a bite of his sandwich. The two eat in a companionable silence for a while, both thinking of the implications of this meeting. It is Maria who speaks first.

"In case you don't understand the nature of this exchange; I'm giving you something… don't you have _**something**_ for me in return…?" Her tone is light and playful even though her smile has no trace of humor

Forge hesitates. He knew what she wanted, but he wasn't sure that he could give it to her. It meant crossing a line he wasn't in a hurry to step over. "Why does Fury need-?"

"Yours is not to _**question**_ why…" Maria drops all playfulness and stares at him directly. "This opportunity is time sensitive, Maker. You either take it right here, right now, or you walk away and I find someone without your… sensibilities."

Forge reaches into his pocket and hands over a flash drive. Maria takes it and hands him a nearly identical one, taking the tablet back from him.

"Done and done. See how easy things are when you cooperate?"

"What do you want _**that**_ information for?" Forge asks. He just handed the Assistant Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. a flash drive with all the information about every mutant currently affiliated with Xavier's. So he naturally wonders what she would want this for.

It was his understanding that the United States Government already had detailed files on all those with extra normal abilities. And it wasn't as if the existence of mutants was some sort of national secret. So when she made her request two days ago he was confused to say the least. For a moment though, it appears like his question will go unanswered, but Maria pushes her plate away and sighs.

"I'll let you in on a little secret…" Maria smiles standing. "Things are _**happening **_in DC. Between the cure that was and _**wasn't**_ and the Chi'tari invasion, we're done playing on the sidelines. We're going to need active response teams. Some of those teams will be public, like the Avengers or the Fantastic Four… others… well… they're going to do the _**dirty work**_… The sort of things that make guerilla warfare look like a game of paintball. And there are only a few people around these days with the ability to get their hands_** that**_ dirty…"

"But… the mutants at Xavier's-"

"Don't pretend that those kids aren't going through advanced tactics and combat training, Forge. We've seen them in action. But, _**for now**_, we're really only interested in bringing back in a certain Canadian. Weapon X is walking around with half a billion dollars of government property and we've yet to see _**any **_return on that investment…"

Forge breathes a sigh of relief. If they were only interested in Logan, that suited him just fine. "Well in that case… I'll help in _**any way**_ I can…"

"I thought that might engender your cooperation…"

"By the way, I can complete device to the specifications you need, but what are you going to use for a power source? I thought the Tesseract was-"

Maria drops several bills onto the table and stands. "Let us deal with that Forge. You just get us a prototype we can run with as soon as possible." She turns away to leave, but soon turns back to Forge. "I may call on you to set up a little meet and greet with tall, dark and hairy soon… can I count on you to be as helpful as you were today?"

Forge doesn't hide his delight. "Of course."

**-Xavier's Study, 2pm-**

Betsy Braddock has always enjoyed teaching. She relished in the idea that she could help young minds develop. Here at Xavier's she has been given an even greater chance to help; by assisting young boys and girls in dealing with the stresses that come with being a different.

In this particular case in front of her and Jean Grey sat five very unique, very powerful young mutants. They hope to begin the process of healing their fragile minds today.

"Hey… where's the golden haired pretty boy?" Kevin Ford asks looking around the room.

"I'm right here, _**Goth Vader**_." Joshua answers with his usual brand of attitude. It was becoming clear to anyone who spent more than a few minutes around him that Joshua was as nasty as they came.

"I believe he means Douglas." Nezhno responds. He could not understand why Joshua insisted on being so rude. Everyone he'd encountered here so far had been nothing but exceedingly kind to him. It reminded him of the village he grew up in, with the exception that no one here feared him.

"No, _**brotha**_, I don't think so." Joshua laughs and turns to Cessily giving her a wink. Cessily turns away from him quickly, meeting up with the sharp green eyes of Kyle she decides to study her hands folded in her lap instead. She found herself uncomfortably drawn to Kyle. He reminded her of the type of boy, under normal circumstances, she would have been interested in. But those days of dating, parties and dancing were well behind her now.

"At any rate…" Jean announces, cutting through the chatter. "We're here to help you adjust to being here at this school, not about who is and who isn't here." Fact was every one of them hated _**who and what**_ they were to some degree, while Douglas relished his abilities. Betsy and Jean discussed the idea of including him anyway, so that his presence would not be missed, but decided it would serve as more of a distraction than not having him here.

"So he's not here because he's the only one of us _**happy **_being a freak…" Kevin snorts derisively folding his arms.

"Are you unhappy with your gifts or are you unhappy with your _**lack of control**_ over them?" Betsy asks Kevin directly. All the other students look at him and wait for him to answer. Unlike Joshua, Kevin turned his hatred over his situation towards himself.

Kevin shrugs. "Pick one."

Betsy smiles. "No Kevin, I believe I asked you to."

Kevin turns red, from both embarrassment and anger. "How would you feel if everything you touched immediately turned to _**ashes**_ right in front of you?"

"Angry. Frustrated. Depressed. Maybe a bit bitter as well… does that describe how you feel Kevin?"

"Why do you keep asking _**me**_ questions?" Kevin did not like the fact that she kept staring at him with those lavender eyes. It wasn't just the stare that bothered him; it was the genuine compassion they held. "There are four _**other**_ people in this room!"

Betsy and Jean share a quick glance and Jean takes over.

"Every single mutant here at this school, _**every one**_, has gone through the same feeling you all have-"

"…bullshit…"

"Cessily." Jean stands and walks over to the silver skinned girl who muttered. She squats down in front of her. "Do you think that we all woke up one day, realized we were different and were perfectly fine with it?" Cessily's mutation was especially unique, it was something Jean had never seen before. Her entire body; skin, organs even her skeletal structure, was now composed of an unknown polymer, similar to mercury. While it made her extremely malleable and durable, it also made her completely without a sense of touch.

"Easy for you to get over it though…" Kevin remarks. "You didn't develop gold skin, or have your whole body resemble something from the imagination of James Cameron. The two of you are practically _**supermodels **_who can read thoughts. What a terrible, _**terrible **_burden!"

Joshua laughs at Kevin's remark. "Yeah. You think the T-1000 over there wouldn't trade places with almost anyone else here?"

"What is a… "T-1000"?" Nezhno asks softly. He often felt left out of the conversations of the others his age. They didn't talk like the teenagers he grew up around.

"Jeez, dude, don't they get movies out in Waka Waka?"

"It is _**Wakanda**_, Joshua, and males in my country have responsibilities outside of watching television and cultivating an overly developed sense of self worth." There isn't a trace of anger or bitterness in his voice. He could be offering his opinion on the weather outside.

Kyle snickers at Nezhno's very polite and astute insult, earning him an angry look from Joshua. To Joshua's dismay, not only does Kyle not turn away but he returns the look boldly.

"It's a liquid metal monster from a movie called Terminator 2… it's exactly what I am… a monster…" Cessily answers softly.

"See? _**She gets it**_! She knows she's a monster! Unlike the rest of you here who keep trying to convince us and yourselves otherwise!" Despite the obvious venom in his comment, there is also a great deal of pain in his words. Of course, that doesn't grant him any sympathy from Jean.

"Joshua one more outburst from you in this meeting and you will learn what a _**monster **_truly is!" Jean has more than her fill from this boy and is beginning to lose her patience.

_**Easy there, Red…**_

_**This boy Betsy…**_

_**Is even more damaged than the rest of them. He's been a fed a steady diet of hate his whole life and now he's become the object of his hatred. He's still trying to reconcile his current reality with his previous one. We knew he would be the biggest challenge here, but his abrasive personality may serve to our advantage…**_

"Joshua makes an interesting point…" Betsy declares, drawing the eyes of everyone in the room. "So let's discuss; _**what is a monster**_?" Five sets of confused eyes meet hers so she continues. "What makes a monster, a monster? Is it their appearance?" At first, no one speaks up and Betsy fears this will be harder than she originally thought. Then the most unlikely of hands rises. "Go ahead Nezhno…"

"There are men within my tribe who have attained many scars defending our land, making them… difficult to look at." Nezhno speaks in a calm voice. "But they have a position of honor and are valued by all. _**They are not monsters **_and no one would think them such either."

"So then is it _**what we do**_, that makes us monsters?" Betsy asks looking over at Nezhno gratefully. He got the ball rolling and hopefully the others would follow suit. "Kevin?"

"Well I mean… if a guy does something awful cause he's being forced or because he just doesn't know any better…" Kevin immediately looks at Joshua. "That guy may be a _**jerk **_or a coward, but not a monster…"

"So where then does the definition lie…?" Jean asks grateful to have Betsy here with her. She still has trouble mastering her temper, so having someone in the room as a calm voice of reason helps.

_**I'm glad to be here too…**_

_**I still want to peel the skin off of Mr. Midas there…**_

_**As brilliant as that sounds… your hubby would be really mad if you did…**_

**-War room, 4pm-**

"So you think there's hope for them then?" Scott asks leaning against the wall. Surprisingly, it was Logan's idea to have a daily wrap up session with the senior members of the school. He had to admit it was a good one. It allowed everyone to catch up and made them more effective as a staff.

Betsy and Jean share a look and then Jean nods. "We think that there is hope for all of them… but the healing process is going to take some time…"

"Maybe we could assign them mentors…?" Beast offers.

"It could work…" Betsy agrees, earning a smile from her favorite mutant. "I still think group therapy would be the best option though…"

"Then a combination?" Storm adds. "Have them mentored by their peers and come together once a week for a group session…" Betsy and Jean both nod in approval.

"Sounds like we're in agreement then…" Scott announces. "Logan and I will try and come up with some proper combinations, but you and Jean will have final say Betsy. The two of you know them best."

The meeting continued with the senior members discussing everything from the serious to the mundane, until;

"Anything else we need to cover?"

Everyone in the room; Ororo, Jean, Betsy, Alison, Bobby, Hank and Aaron all look at each other for confirmation. "I think that's plenty," Ororo offers with a strained smile. It had taken quite a bit to get the new additions settled in. Some of the older students, who had the benefit of their own room, gave up their freedom to accommodate the new ones. That along with the less than friendly personalities of some of them made for a tense situation.

"Okay then." The group breaks up as the members make their way from the room.

"Have you any plans for dinner, Ms. Braddock?"

"I certainly hope so, Mr. McCoy…" Betsy answers with a saucy wink.

"Hank, hang back for a moment will you?" Scott asks with a smile. "Aaron, Logan and Bobby, you as well…"

Jean looks at her boyfriend warily, but doesn't question him. "I hope you haven't forgotten _**our **_dinner plans, Mr. Summers…" Jean announces, linking her arm around his.

"Jean…" Scott groans.

"I'm not asking you to march out to face an army of Sentinels, I just want to eat at a place where there's not a television hanging from the wall and there's no kids yelling about their Facebook status…"

"But a double date seems so… I don't know…"

"Adult _**couples**_ go out and have dinner with their friends all the time and Ororo and I both think the two of you have spent _**too **_much time cooped up in here."

Ororo joins the two, dragging an equally uncooperative Logan over to them. "In case you gentlemen missed the subtle cue, _**this is not up for debate.**_ Reservations and promises have already been made…" Ororo gives Logan a kiss and looks over at Jean. "Let's go and let the boys have their man time." She pokes Logan in the chest menacingly. "I don't expect this to take very long…"

"It won't darlin'…" Logan promises with a smile. He, like Scott, wasn't looking forward to this, but after getting more than an earful from Ororo the other night he knew something had to give. This, in his opinion, was a better compromise than the alternative.

The five of them wait for them to leave. Once everyone is gone, Beast activates a few switches in the room to guarantee no one can overhear. With that done, Logan is the first to speak.

"Beast, where are we with the files X-Force brought back from the Fantastic Four?" Logan asks, lighting a cigar.

"The design of the device has gone through several iterations… I may need assistance on this one from a mind more _**suited to engineering theory**_…" Beast has been trying to bring Forge into this circle of confidence for some time now and he has been denied at every turn. He hopes this situation will lift that embargo.

"Logan and I are in agreement on this one Hank," Scott offers without looking at Logan. These past few months he's discovered that not only did the two of them have more in common than he would have ever thought, but that their instincts invariably brought them to the same conclusions. "We are keeping this close to the vest, _**no one**_ outside this room can know about this situation."

Beast nods grudgingly. He couldn't understand their distrust of Forge, but he would try to respect their wishes. "If I'm going to be trying to figure this out _**on my own**_-"

"We'll have your classes covered, for now, this is your only priority." Logan answers, turning to Aaron and Bobby. "The two of you may be called on to pitch in as well…"

Aaron and Bobby both nod. They both know better than to voice their concerns here. Things are intense enough as it is.

"Have we even been able to locate Trask?" Bobby asks Beast, taking a seat. Since Fury's visit they've focused on two things; getting the data on the perpetual energy device Richards has been working on and finding Trask. Given the fact that he escaped the initial mind wipe by being in custody, they knew the threat of another attack was imminent. Even with all of his contemporaries clueless as to the Mastermold Initiative, it would be an easy feat for Trask to reignite their interest in mutant extermination.

"Without _**any**_ _**telepaths **_at our disposal, I'm somewhat limited in what I can do…" Beast had been using every method of detection he could, except what he felt would be the most successful. But having Jean, Betsy and Rachel try to find the last man who knew anything about the Sentinel program, would mean full disclosure. Something that Scott and Logan felt was not a good idea. "If I sound frustrated it's only because _**I am**_!"

"I know Hank, but this is the way it has to be, for now…" Scott answers sympathetically.

"The fewer people in the know right now the better. Panic is the only thing that would come from letting this out." After the damage the last Sentinel attack did here, he didn't know if the school could survive another. Even the potential threat of one could be enough to destroy the peace they'd built over the last few months.

"How difficult could it be to find this guy?" Bobby asks incredulously. Bolivar Trask is one of the foremost minds in mechanical engineering. Removing someone like him off the face of the earth seemed impossible to him.

"The guy may be a piece of garbage, but he's not dumb. Once S.H.I.E.L.D. let him go he would've gone back to his allies, saw their condition and put two and two together." Aaron grunts angrily. "I'll bet you anything that Trask has allied himself with someone who has the ability to keep him safe from us… Plenty of humans would be in favor of his cause."

"Any idea who's on the short list of possible sympathizers that Trask could've run to?" Scott had come to value the young man's insight. He had a way of seeing things the others didn't, given his experience in the covert operations world.

"A couple…" Aaron had been considering that very thing since Fury made his impromptu visit. "I have a contact that could help… only-"

"What?"

"He's in a Super-villain Supermax… no way to talk to him unless-"

"You're a prisoner there." Logan finishes. "Then we need to work another angle-"

"Not necessarily…"

"Summers…"

"Hear me out Logan; we could arrange things so that Aaron is processed as a supervil using Hank's contacts within the Capitol-"

"And how do we _**arrange**_ his release?" Logan asks losing his temper. He didn't like how easily or how often Scott put his son in harms way. X-Force was one thing, but this was another. "If we make it so he's dangerous enough to be arrested and put in the same prison as his contact, they're not just gonna let him go when we've got the info we need…"

Aaron has an idea of how he could make this work, but he knew this wasn't the forum for that discussion. "He has a point, Scott. I'll figure something else out. I have some other contacts I might be able to lean on instead…"

Scott nods and Logan eyes Aaron warily. He didn't figure his son would give up on this course of action so easily. The kid was as stubborn and as thick headed as he is.

Bobby had another concern, one that had been bothering him all day. "How long do we keep the others in the dark about this? How much longer _**can**_ we?" Three of the people in this room were dating telepaths and there was no sure way to keep your mental defenses up at all times. He didn't like lying to his friends, especially not to Kitty, who he'd only been dating a short time.

Beast sighs angrily before reaching into his pocket and pulling out five small cases. "Before he… left us… Charles had me work on these… I abandoned the project sometime after the whole Cure fiasco. Scott commissioned me to resume my work…" Beast hands one to each man assembled here.

"What-?"

"Psychic dampeners. Beast answers opening his case to reveal a small silver piece, no bigger than an eraser head. "I came up with the design, Stark helped with the implementation…"

"These guys are dating telepaths who they have a psychic rapport with- so are you! Aren't they going to notice that your minds are closed to them?"

"A valid concern young Robert…" Beast returns with a slight smile. "Fact is, you can't keep a telepath _**completely **_out, but you can control the access…"

"Certain key words; _**Trask, Sentinels, perpetual energy**_, will be met with a false thought stream. If they probe for any of those words and a couple others, they'll just get a return signal of what they already know." Scott fills Bobby in, taking his own device from its case and holding it in his palm.

"… what do we do then? Swallow it?" Aaron asks looking at the small device. He'd never seen anything so unique in such a small package. He was glad that Drake voiced his concern first, because even though he agreed this was the best course of action, he didn't like keeping things from Rachel either.

"No." Beast answers gravely. "What comes next will be… very… unpleasant…"

**-Institute, Foyer, 6pm-**

"Quit wriggling, Summers… McCoy says it takes a few hours to get situated…"

Scott stops scratching his temple and tries to focus on something else. "Why did we agree to this in the first place?" Scott pulls at the collar of his shirt, wondering if he is dressed okay, but unwilling to ask Logan directly.

"Whether yer talking about Beast's idea or about this double date the answer is the same; we ain't have a choice…" Before Logan was a Canadian whisky swilling roughneck in flannel, he was a child of privilege. With his memories now returned to him, he feels more comfortable than he would ever have thought possible in a suit. He can sense Scott's discomfort, but prefers to let him stew. It was after all Jean's idea to do this. "Now fix your shirt and try to act like ya got some class…"

Scott laughs darkly. "Really? You wanna go there; _**Wolverine**_?"

"Bub, I'm the best there is at what I do… and what I do-" The ladies scents hit him first; the heady rain-earth-orchid combination competing with a soft cinnamon and strawberry and then he hears them.

Logan looks up the steps to see Jean and Ororo chatting happily as they come downstairs. Ororo has chosen a midnight blue number that clings to her curves as if it were painted on. It covers one shoulder and is see-through from the knees down. This time, instead of her normal brown wig she has her natural hair out. Long and wavy, just the way that Logan likes it.

Logan can't help but wonder if Ororo started each day with the thought; _**how am I going to drive Logan crazy today?**_ "Wow…"

Noting his expression, Scott follows Logan's gaze up the steps and sees the woman he's loved since he had a definition for the word. "Wow is right…" Jean has on an emerald green dress, which compliments her eyes and showcases her long legs with a dangerous split up the left and right sides. Her hair is pinned up, allowing the green pendant Scott gave her a few years ago to draw the eyes right to her cleavage, which is tastefully on display. She reaches the two of them first.

"You don't look to shabby yourself handsome…" Jean kisses Scott on the cheek carefully and then wipes away the lipstick left behind. "I approve!" Jean laughs lightly enjoying seeing Scott in a classic gray suit and white shirt. To some it might seem bland, but for her it was perfect.

"As do I." Ororo adds smoothing the lapel of Logan's chocolate suit. She brought it for him a few days after she fully recovered and had been dying to see him in it since. She feels it was worth the wait.

"Thank you ma'am," Logan smiles tipping his imaginary hat. He pulls her in for a hug and gives her butt a firm squeeze.

"Hey!" Ororo protests playfully.

"Just trying to get a feel for the fabric…" Logan replies innocently, sliding his hand up and down the material.

"I just bet you are…"

**-Restaurant**

"… so that was the last time the Professor let _**any of us**_ drive him to town!"

Both Jean and Ororo burst into laughter as Scott finishes his story. Even Logan has a wide smile on his face. "Scott Summers; rebel. I woulda never believed it!"

"Oh Logan, when you put Scott and his younger brother Alex together it was a recipe for craziness!" Jean laughs looking at Scott. "It was like your I.Q.'s went down the closer you were in proximity to each other!"

"Guess it's a good thing Alex is in California then!" Scott laughs good-naturedly, taking another sip of his wine. He just finished telling them about how they took the Professor's car joyriding through Manhattan and ended up getting it stolen. It was a particularly hilarious story considering both of the teens had enough power to level a city.

Ororo sighs at the memory. Things were simpler for all of them then. That had been the most trouble that any of them had ever gotten into before the Magneto's of the world announced their agenda. "I'd forgotten all about that! How is Alex, by the way?"

Scott smiles brightly at the mention of his younger sibling. "Good, Ororo. He and Lorna have opened a surf shop out in Malibu." Alex, unlike Scott, was not someone who attached himself to Xavier's dream. Alex came to the school to gain control over his abilities but once he had his energy manipulation under control, he left. "Apparently Lorna has been dropping hints about children so there may be a niece or nephew in my future."

Jean wraps her arm around Scott's and sighs. "Do you ever wonder what would've happened if you left with him Scott?" Once Alex was prepared to leave, he begged Scott to come with him, but Scott had refused. Lorna took his place on the road and the two of them have been together since. After stops in Atlanta, Texas and Colorado, the two settled in California.

"I already know what would've happened…" Scott answers kissing Jean lightly on the wrist. Scott stayed because he was desperately in love with the teenaged Jean Grey, even though to that point she didn't pay him much attention.

"That is so sweet!" Ororo exclaims, smiling at the two of them.

"Easy there, Slim…" Logan warns gruffly, noting Ororo's obvious excitement over the display. "We just started got our salads; don't set the bar too high yet…"

"Afraid you won't be able to reach it?" Scott challenges.

"Watch and learn, kid." Logan stands from his seat and holds out his hand to Ororo. She takes it warily. "Ms. Monroe, would you care to dance?"

"I'd love to, Mr. Logan!" Ororo allows herself to be led to the small dance floor and is genuinely surprised to see Logan waltz with such skill. "Is there no limit to your talents?"

"If there are darlin'…" Logan growls softly in her ear. "You and me are gonna have a great time finding them…"

Jean and Scott watch their two friends sway gracefully to the music in an easy silence. It's a moment that years ago neither would have thought possible; Ororo happy with another man.

"They're good together…" Scott admits. He had his doubts in the beginning. In fact he was sure that at some point Logan would mess things up and he would be forced to put the man out.

"So are you two…" Jean counters and when Scott turns to her confused she continues. "There's something big going on and both you and Logan have kept an extremely tight lid on it."

Scott knew that Jean would never be able to simply let things go. "Jean…"

Jean kisses him firmly on the lips and he returns the kiss earnestly. She can sense both disapproval and agreement from the other patrons of the restaurant, but all she can sense from Scott is desire. "I know that there are going to be some things that you can't tell me…" She announces after breaking their kiss. "I just hope you know it's not going to stop me from wondering _**or asking**_…"

"I know."

"It also won't stop me from getting an attitude about it from time to time either…" She continues seriously.

"I _**definitely**_ know that…" Scott laughs softly before avoiding a very well aimed fork, tossed at his lap with telekinesis.

"Don't spoil the moment by trying to be cute, Scott Summers…" Jean breaks her serious look to smile. "And now… you may be content on letting those two outdo us, but I am not. So, out of your seat handsome." Jean stands waiting for Scott to join her.

"You got it, Red."

**-Four Seasons Hotel, dining room-**

"May I join you for a drink?"

Maria Hill smiles before turning around. "Has anyone ever said no to you, Victor?"

Without his mask and armor, the man born Victor Von Doom is still an imposing figure. He takes a seat at the bar next to Maria. "Of course. But it is a rare occurrence…"

Maria nods and catches the bartenders' attention, ordering another Scotch for her new ally. Once the man goes to retrieve the drink, she turns to him. "Taking a risk coming back to New York, aren't we?"

"If the United States government has learned anything from the incident with T'Challa, diplomatic immunity is not something to be taken lightly…" Doom returns confidently taking a sip of the drink placed in front of him. "I trust your meeting went well?"

"I've found most men easy to manipulate, once you find the right button…" Maria laughs, handing Doom the thumb drive Forge had given her earlier. "I already found two potential candidates that will fit our need…"

"I've no doubt you have…" Doom palms the device greedily. This effectively eliminates the usefulness of Trask. "Tell me; what is my button?"

"Victor… why would I ever let you in on that?"

"Why indeed…?" Victor smiles. He will allow her this moment. She thinks he doesn't know what her true game is and she, like so many others will find there is no fooling Victor Von Doom.

_**A/N: Next up; the new students get mentors, Forge begins his project and… the return!**_

_**A/N: Hope Kaestal enjoyed the intro I gave for your character idea! Kyle Denton will have a role within the series that you may not expect! Next up things get interesting as the "brunette" reveals who she really is (many may have an idea already!) and Logan and Storm go on a double date?**_


	4. Brotherly Love?

_**A/N: Hooray for updates!**_

**-Central Park West, two months ago-**

"I take it your new family has no idea about our little side deal?"

"What do you think, Fury?"

Nick Fury stands up from the park bench to walk towards the edge of a small pond. Several geese protest his intrusion until he tosses a few crackers their way. "I think you're walking through a raging inferno with _**gasoline**_ boxers on…" He knew that this _**new life**_ Aaron Carter had been trying to lead flew in the face of everything the boy was raised to embrace.

Nick Fury also knew that if the X-men ever found out about the things he called on the young mutant to do it would be problematic for _**him**_ as well as Aaron.

With the death of his mother, the school was Aaron's only tether to the civilized world. Without it, Fury had doubts anyone would be able to reign in the rage he inherited from his father. Which would mean someone, likely S.H.I.E.L.D. would have to bring him in.

Fury doubted that Aaron was the type to come quietly.

"Then it's a good thing I heal quick…" Aaron has a strange relationship with the S.H.I.E.L.D. Director. He distrusted Fury's intentions, _**openly**_. He didn't especially like the man, but they often found themselves on the same side of a conflict. This recent task was something he would have taken up himself even if Fury hadn't "requested" his help. "So don't worry about the complexities of our _**arrangement**_, I consider the scales balanced as of now…"

Aaron tosses Fury an external hard drive the size of a brick, which the man, despite his lack of proper depth perception, catches easily.

With his account settled, Aaron felt a huge burden lift off his shoulders. Even now it was too easy to slip back into his old life. He found it intoxicating operating behind enemy lines, with no back up and no supervision. And as much as he was enjoying his new life, there would always be a part of him that thrived in the darkness.

Aaron had done countless dirty deeds for the United States government via his connection with S.H.I.E.L.D. and while he once relished in those deeds, he was trying to be a different man now.

"Any problems recovering this?" Fury asks with an amused look holding up the drive, noting several bullet holes in it.

"If you're worried about any data corruption or loss, I assure you there is none." Aaron squats by the pond to stroke the neck of a goose who has boldly ventured close to them.

He wasn't surprised when Fury insisted that the X-men and by extension Aaron, owed him one in shutting down Reed Richards' energy experiment.

Angry, sure, but not surprised.

So while Aaron didn't agree that Fury was owed anything, he _**did agree**_ with the cause of action Fury wanted him to take. So he paid a visit to an unsanctioned medical facility in Prague and did what he does best. A group of fanatical "scientists" were looking to create a virus based off of Worthington Industries cure. Instead of negating mutant abilities it would have killed anyone with the mutant gene.

From what he could tell, they were close to a break through which is why he left no one at the facility alive. And because of his natural distrust of Fury, he deleted any and all files pertaining to their work on the virus. The drive Fury held contained mainly innocuous documents, nothing that could be a threat to mutants. Fury would likely be pissed when he found out, but Aaron didn't care.

"You seem upset Aaron," Fury notes lighting up a cigar. "If you didn't like the conditions of our arrangement-"

"You have want you want, _**Patch**_, we're done here." Aaron stands up quickly, startling both the goose and the S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents pretending to be patrons of the park. As six sets of hands drop to hidden holsters Aaron turns back to Nick Fury. "Only _**six**_ this time Fury? I'm insulted."

Fury signals his men to stand down and chuckles. "Chalk it up to your new way of life… girl's been a good influence on you…"

"You don't get to talk about her…" Aaron growls in a low tone. He didn't like how well informed Fury was one bit.

"Easy tiger, no need to get riled up." Taking a long pull from his cigar he takes measure of the man in front of him. "You're right though, we are done here. But let me leave you with this; even though we've had our differences, I've always respected you. May not have always liked you-"

"Ditto."

"-but I do respect you. So I'm gonna make a deal with you." Aaron raises an eyebrow and watches Fury carefully. He had not known Fury to make deals; at least not deals that were to the advantage of anyone other than himself. "No more of this _**you owe me**_ / _**I owe you**_ crap. The world is becoming an increasingly dangerous place. There are threats that could wipe out humans _**and**_ mutants in the blink of an eye and if we're too busy trying to figure out who owes who to help each other… well that's not gonna end well. _**For either side**_."

Aaron nods. The X-men were still recovering from their own crisis when the Chi'tari attacked. They were in no position to help at that time, but everyone was in agreement that if something like that happened again, they'd do all they could. "I would've been right on the front lines with your Avengers Fury, I-"

"I know it kid." Fury interrupts with a smile. "And if something like that happens again, I got the school on speed dial."

For the first time today, Aaron genuinely smiles. "Good." Aaron sticks out his hand to the man who has been both enemy and ally for nearly half his life. Fury, although surprised, grips it firmly.

**-Institute, Scott's office, now-**

"What about Rahne?"

"Sinclair?" Logan snorts leaning against the wall. "That kid just started speaking ta people in complete sentences last week! She ain't in no position to be mentorin' nobody!"

"But Cessily may be more comfortable relating to someone like her…" Scott counters. The two had lined up all the new students with mentors except two; Cessily and Kevin.

"According to the kids' parents, before her mutation came about she was all football players, proms and pep squads, _**no way**_ does Rahne relate. Cessily may be introverted now, but that's just now." Cessily's parents were actually surprisingly supportive of their daughter. Most of the students here had little to no contact with their family, relatives tended to pretend they never existed at all.

"Okay then…" Scott flips through the personal files of the students and comes to a photo and smiles. "Well at the other end of the spectrum we have Tabitha…"

"That actually may work…" Logan considers thoughtfully. Matching up the others had been a fairly quick process. Kyle Denton, though quiet, did not seem as emotional disturbed as the others, so they both agreed that Bobby Drake would be a good influence on him. Joshua was the resident problem child, but his issues had more to do with self-loathing than actual rage, making him the perfect fit for Rachel. She had to deal with similar issues in coming here from her apocalyptic future and being a telepath didn't hurt.

Logan took particular joy in assigning Nezhno to his son, Aaron. He hoped the Wakandan pacifist would rub off on his son.

Douglas, though not really in need of a mentor was matched with Kitty; their scientific hunger making them fast friends anyway.

Now it was down to one; Kevin.

"What about Marie?" Scott asks Logan carefully. The only person here he was more protective of than Storm, was Marie. And she had been having a rough go of it since coming back.

"Perfect." Logan nods, surprising Scott.

"Really?"

"Girl thinks we been treating her with kid gloves since she got back- which we have- so this will be a chance for her to be of value again and show we trust her." Bobby told him about Rogue's attempt to leave the school and Logan has since been trying to be more active in her life. She was coming around, but much slower than he would have liked. Even now with her powers finally under control, she was still untouchable.

Scott laughs, unable help himself. "You're pretty insightful for a guy who used to consider Pork Rinds and beer an acceptable meal."

"Still do, Summers. Wanna make something of it?"

"Nope." Scott smirks, writing down the final suggestion. If he wasn't careful he was going to start enjoying these meetings. In fact, if he were honest with himself, he already was. Running the school with Logan had been going better than he could have hoped.

"With that settled, we need to talk."

Scott has his head down so he doesn't see the serious look on Logan's face. "I know the Stanley Cup playoffs are coming Logan, we'll make sure that you have television time scheduled appropriately…"

"Not that… well yes that's good to know… but…" Logan waits until the man looks up at him. "This is about Xavier…"

Scott winces at the mention of that name and leans back in his seat. "What about him?"

Logan had thought out just how he wanted to approach this subject and he felt this was the best way. "His loss was tough on you-"

"His _**death**_… was tough on all of us…" Scott argues, wondering what Logan is getting at.

Logan nods. "He was our anchor; our heart. The way he was taken from us... It was a calculated, measured strike from within, using a decoy to cut him from our lives-"

"If you plan on arriving at a point soon Logan, I would appreciate it." Scott mutters through clenched teeth. To say the subject of Xavier was a sore spot was an understatement.

When the X-men rescued Scott and the others from Welling's installation, they jumped right into a full scale battle with the Sentinels. Afterwards, the school was reeling from the injured and the dead; he never really had the chance to mourn the man who was more than "like a father" to him. For all intents and purposes, Xavier was his father.

"I'll get to it then… Do you think it's possible him not being here has you overcompensating…? Maybe losing sight of the vision he stood for…?"

Scott is surprised to hear Logan speaking this way. He thought the two of them were united in all the decisions they'd made. "Is this is about X-Force? Or more accurately, about Aaron…?"

Logan shakes his head angrily. "This is about the fact that less than twenty-four hours ago you were willing to send teenager into a Super-villain penitentiary with no viable exit strategy, all for the _**possibility**_ of getting information. Before that you sent a pair of kids into a building more secure than the freakin' Pentagon to get some files. When does it stop? What's the point you ain't willing to go past?"

"So it is about Aaron…" Scott smirks. "Those decisions were not easy Logan, but they were _**necessary**_. We are in a desperate situation that we're trying to resolve quickly and quietly. Some extreme measures are to be expected."

"And you don't see nothin' wrong with how fast you're willing to go from zero to sixty with these kids?"

Scott winces, but his voice is firm and steady when he answers. "They may be young Logan, but they are hardly _**kids**_. Not after Magneto. Not after Stryker. Not after the cure crap and Welling and Sentinel attacks on the front lawn…" Scott argues.

Logan agreed that those situations took their toll, but he was undaunted. "Maybe not. But they sure ain't gonna ever have a chance at a normal life if we keep sending them in ta the fire like we are."

"I don't know where this is coming from Logan." Scott admits exasperated. "We both agreed that X-Force would go places, do things, which the X-men couldn't do. We also agreed that we needed to trust some of the older students with more responsibility. We can't do that and still treat them like kids…" Scott counters. The two of them had spent many nights arguing over the pros and cons of X-Force. In the end it came down to both men agreeing that neither of them were comfortable with the idea, but both felt it was a good one.

"And I still feel that way… but… well… What d'ya think Chuck would have to say about the moves you been making lately? We're keeping everyone in the dark about Trask, about Banshee, about what X-Force is really about… our secrets have secrets!"

"I don't know what Charles would say because he's _**dead**_! And he's dead because we were unprepared. He's dead because there weren't enough properly trained mutants to contain the clone before she… Any secrets we're keeping are to protect the people you're so desperate to keep safe!" Scott stands angrily. "And Logan? Don't delude yourself into thinking that Xavier was something he wasn't. Did he want peace between our races? Absolutely, but he knew that peace only comes through conflict and if you check the scoreboard we've gotten our _**asses kicked**_ more than we've _**kicked ass**_!"

Logan nods. "Yeah the bad guys caught us with our pants down and we're taking steps to correct that. Two teams of X-men, the New Mutants squad… we've learned from our past mistakes. Ain't no need to make brand new ones! We can prepare our students without making them into soldiers."

"Think that if you want…" Scott walks from behind the desk to stand in front of Logan. "We used to say; _**"there's a war coming"**_. Well now that war is _**here**_ and it's at the door! If we don't answer, it's not going to _**go away**_; it will kick the door down!" Placing a hand on the man's shoulder firmly he continues. "You don't like the idea of your son leading this team, I can understand that. But with his training and experience he's the best option."

Logan shrugs away from Scott's hand and walks across the room. "Don't you get it, Summers? This place… this school is supposed to be about _**second chances**_ for these kids. We're supposed to give them the opportunity to escape their past pain, not exploit it!"

"And that's what you think I'm doing here? He _**volunteered **_for this Logan," Clenching his fist tightly at his sides he continues. "I didn't persuade him, hell, I didn't even _**suggest **_it. He did! He wanted this! So do a lot of other students here! They want to defend their school, their brothers and sisters! They want to honor the memory of our fallen, by making sure it doesn't happen again!"

"So what?" Logan whirls to face the man. "We're the adults here! We make the decisions that are supposed to be best for the children, not the other way around!"

"Aaron is not a child, Logan! Neither are any of the New Mutants or X-Force!" Scott counters loudly. "And what would you prefer? That after spending all of his life in the fight, that Aaron goes cold turkey and become a monk? How do you think _**that **_would play out, _**dad**_? At least this way-"

"-We can take advantage of the fact Aaron is damaged goods in order ta give you the chance to play Patton? These kids_** ain't**_ soldiers. And you ain't a general! I been on the front lines of war, Slim and there ain't no winners only _**losers**_ who lost less than the other side!"

The two seethe at each other in silence for a moment, both adamant in their positions. Logan saw a man who championed the ideal of peace, descending into a place he was all too familiar with. And Scott saw a man unwilling to face the hard realities of the world they were in.

"Charles Xavier's dream…" Logan breaks the silence with a name the drives a knife through Scott. "…was that mutants and humans learn to _**live in harmony **_with each other… to that end he believed in fighting, dying, if necessary. I can't claim to know what he would have done in our situation, but I can't imagine it would be… _**this**_…"

"Then you're a fool…" Scott lashes out. "The Danger Room was never meant to be a tool to _**train **_us to use our powers, it was _**always **_meant to teach us to fight. For our ideals, for our lives if need be. X-Force is the logical progression to the issues confronting us. If you weren't blinded by this newfound fatherly responsibility you'd see that."

Logan didn't like the way Scott seemed to be making light of his responsibility to Aaron. Perhaps Scott was unable to see that Logan was no longer the loner who first came here. "So I'm the one not _**seeing**_ clearly? Kinda rich coming from the guy who hasn't looked a man in the eye since he was eleven years old!"

"Would you like to look me in the eyes _**now**_, Logan?" Scott threatens reaching for his glasses.

Logan knew that Scott was provoking him and he didn't like being challenged. Though his claws were aching to be released he takes a deep breath and calms himself. "You're walking a dangerous line, Summers and I don't want ta see ya cross it."

Scott backs down a bit with those words. He wondered that very thing himself; whether he was crossing into dangerous ground. So far he honestly felt he hadn't. "And I won't, because we run this school _**together**_, remember?"

"I do." Logan relaxes slightly. "Just so long as you do." He waits until he's sure Scott has cooled a bit before continuing. "And this ain't just about Aaron; it's about how we do things. We have to stand for something better and people here are starting to become too accustomed with the idea of death. Death and killin' shouldn't be ideas _**anyone**_ is comfortable with. Especially not teenagers."

Scott nods and leans back against the large desk that once belonged to a man who believed the very things Logan is saying and wonders just how he would view things. He felt he was making the right decisions, but he could see Logan's point as being valid as well.

"It's not enough to be _**against**_ something, Logan. You have to be for something _**better**_." Scott whispers turning to look out the window. Below the office, several of the students are playing football and laughing on the grass. Scott motions for Logan to take a look, which he does. "I want more than anything for _**this**_… to be the common occurrence here. But the only way I know how to begin to try and make that happen is to fight. If you know another way… I'm open to suggestions…"

**-Institute gym-**

"Better keep that left up, Alison!" Ororo is light on her feet as she tries to get underneath Alison's defense.

"Worry about yourself, your highness!" Alison slides under Ororo's right cross and counters with a jab that hits its mark. She follows it up a wild haymaker that sends her best friend reeling backward. "Point to me! I'm a baaaaaaad girl!" Alison laughs doing her best Ali impression.

"Indeed…" Ororo laughs recovering. "But remember, I'm still ahead on the scorecard." Ororo springs from the ropes and goes on the offensive. Alison is able to defend herself admirably.

"Gotta do better than that!" Alison blocks another strike and counters with another punch. Before she can celebrate, Ororo tags her with two quick punches, the first one stunning her, the second knocking her off balance. As she collides with the ropes she tosses her gloves onto the mat in disgust.

"That is the match, my friend."

Ugh… I am such a fat cow!" Alison exclaims, chewing at the tape on her hands stepping out of the ring. "A lethargic three year old could put me on my ass at this point!"

"Alison, quit being so dramatic!" Ororo counters rolling her eyes tossing her friend a towel, following her out of the ring.

"How else do you explain the clean sweep you just performed?" Alison asks toweling off her face. Now that things had finally slowed down she persuaded Ororo to join her in a work out session. It wasn't long into the match that she realized she was woefully out of shape. As evidenced by the sore jaw and aching muscles.

"Ignore her, Ororo," Betsy interrupts joining the conversation. While the two of them sparred against each other, she battled one of Logan's custom made combatants in the Danger Room. She was pleased with her success against it. Before coming here she didn't take her hand to hand combat skills very seriously. "Ali's just fishing for compliments, _**as usual**_."

Alison throws her towel at the Brit, satisfied that it hits her friend square in the face. "If I _**were **_fishing for complements Braddock, there are better lips than yours they could be coming from…" Alison winks ducking Betsy's return fire.

"Annnnnnd now we move from Alison's _**favorite topic**_; herself… to her second favorite topic, Cajun food…" Ororo laughs at Betsy's comment, earning her an angry glare from Alison.

"What?" Ororo asks innocently. "Is she not right?" From the moment the man arrived at the school it had been clear to anyone who bothered to look that Alison had a great deal of affection for him.

"Et tu, Monroe?" Alison groans. She had tried everything short of showing up at Remy Lebeau's door in nothing but a smile, yet the young man seemed uninterested. He was polite enough, even flirtatious, but whenever Alison tried to advance the flirtation he wouldn't take the bait. It was frustrating for her; she's never had to work this hard to get a man's attention. "For the record, I'm _**done**_ chasing him. He's obviously not interested…"

"What makes you say that…?" Betsy quips from behind her.

"Betsy," Alison stops in the hallway and turns to her two friends. "If you know something…"

"I'm a telepath, dear, I know _**many**_ things." Betsy teases with a smile. She had come to think of Alison as a little sister and being the big sister could hardly pass up the chance to pick on her.

"Don't tease, Betts, spill!" Alison cries out desperately. She didn't know why she was so desperate for Bayou boy, but she was.

Betsy feigns shock and disgust. "You would have me _**violate **_the sanctity of someone's mind, something you know I have tremendous respect for, simply to satisfy your crush? Are you that selfish?"

Alison closes the distance between her and Betsy grabbing her arms firmly. "YES! You know I am! Now tell me!" Betsy looks down expectantly at Alison's hands, which are digging almost painfully into her arms. Alison, picking up on this, lets her go. "Ahem… I mean… Betsy, I would _**appreciate**_ your insight into this matter if you felt_** compelled**_ to offer it."

"That is some impressive begging…" Ororo laughs, she'd never seen Alison like this, but she hopes this means she ready for something more than the fling she had with Sean. "Now I wish _**I**_ could read minds…" Alison doesn't acknowledge Ororo though; her eyes are fixed on Betsy's.

"Wow… you really have got it bad, huh?" Betsy smiles, sharing a teasing look with Ororo. "Well I mean… if you really want to know…"

Alison waits expectantly, trying to contain her excitement.

"I haven't the _**foggiest**_ idea what he really thinks of you…" Remy, like Marie had a general fog around his thoughts, she knew she could penetrate it with effort, but she had no reason to.

For a beat Alison is still waiting, but when Betsy says nothing further her expression drops swiftly. "Must be nice to look down on us _**poor lonely folks**_ when you have the man of your dreams, hunh? Hope it was fun for you." Alison strides away angrily, obviously hurt.

"Betsy…" Ororo scolds, chasing after the blonde mutant. "Ali, wait!"

"I-" Betsy finds herself standing in the corridor alone, before she can offer Alison an explanation. Had she known how deeply she cared about Remy, she would have never played with her like that. Now, though, the damage was done. "Bloody hell…"

Betsy sprints after the two of them

**-Forge's lab-**

Since coming back with the schematics, Forge had been working non-stop on designing the unit. He decided to use a template much like that of the Tele-harness he created to allow the X-men to piggyback on Nightcrawler's teleportation ability. Because of the energy required to make the devices functional, they burned out after a few uses, but armed now with the additional knowledge given to him by Hill, he felt confident he could create a more durable version.

The only problem was work like this required his full focus, something that was difficult to come by lately.

At first he thought he could have Hank cover his classes, but that turned out to not be an option, so he simply canceled class for the day. Once he got going on a project, he couldn't stop until it was finished. He felt compelled to ignore sleeping, eating and anything else until the job was done. Even the steady buzz at his door.

"Umm… Professor Forge…?"

Forge recognizes the voice immediately. It was Douglas Ramsey, his newest student. He was also quickly becoming his favorite. "One moment, Douglas." Despite his irritation at the interruption, he covers his work and unlocks the lab doors. Once Douglas steps in, he greets him with barely a trace of frustration. "What brings you by, Doug?"

Douglas is too busy looking around the lab at all the machinery to respond. When he finally does it's only to point and say: "ST-1350?"

Forge follows the boys' finger and smiles. He was something alright. "Yes, it is. Stark left it behind, said he was already working on the next gen and it would be obsolete soon enough…"

Douglas walks over to the device, similar to a car engine, but significantly smaller. He studies it eagerly. "This is supposed to be the most fuel efficient engine in the world and he's already working on another model? But…it looks like… you've modified it…" He looks at it intently and Forge folds his arms and watches. More than anything else he loved teaching, so he couldn't pass up the opportunity.

"_**How**_ have I modified it?" Forge asks, wanting to see just how smart the boy was.

Douglas frowns a bit before responding. "Looks like… you reversed the airflow apparatus…"

"And?" That was an easy catch; anyone familiar with cars at all would have seen that.

"You also… rerouted the primary fuel injectors…"

"You're almost there…" Forge nods excitedly. The boy had a mind much like his own.

"… you cut down the cylinders?" Doug asks leaning over the top of the engine.

"Which will give it about two hundred more ponies-"

"-and about eight more miles per gallon! When do you plan on putting this into a vehicle?"

Forge pauses for a moment. With everything he's working on he had no idea when he was going to actually utilize his modification. Then it dawns on him that he can kill two birds with one stone. "Actually Douglas, how would you like to do the work yourself?"

"What? Seriously?"

"I have a… project… that is going to likely consume much of my time in the upcoming days. Possibly weeks. But it occurs to me that learning should never be put on hold for our personal endeavors. So, I'm offering you the opportunity to teach my class for the next few days by putting your engineering mind to use on the _**F-1550**_." It was a perfect idea. Forge could focus on the work he was doing for Hill while Douglas led the class in a fun project.

"I'm not sure if… I mean I've only been here a little while…" Douglas was already being viewed as something of a teacher's pet. He didn't want to perpetuate the idea by officially becoming a teacher's aide.

"Then have Kitty help you, the two of you seem to be thick as thieves as it is…" Forge is starting to grow antsy, he wanted to get back to work and this discussion was preventing that.

Douglas blushes slightly at that comment. He enjoyed Kitty's company immensely and he was thankful that Bobby was not the jealous type. "Yeah…yeah! That could work…"

"Then I suggest you outline just how you're going to proceed…" Forge offers ushering the young mutant to the door. "I'm sure if you talk to Scott there's a car you could use for the class… just tell him that I approved it." Forge's mind was already turning back to his project; _**Vibranium would be the best conduction element to use maybe Nezhno could help me get my hands on some…**_

"Thanks Professor!" Doug shakes Forge's organic hand eagerly, not noticing how his teacher has already tuned out.

"Thank me by doing your best Douglas, that's all I ask…" Forge waits until the young man is gone, before returning to his work. He begins by loading the schematics back onto his computer screen. He closes the folder to open up Richards' personal notes.

_**Reed Richards is a genius without peer when it comes to scientific theory, but when it comes to engineering design; he has all the imagination of a tree stunp...**_

Though the idea behind his energy collection and redistribution device was solid, it had several notable flaws. He could see why Reed had not debuted the machine at the Stark Expo; it would have been irresponsible at best, disastrous at worst.

Forge had to take the idea back to formula and then work the theory from scratch. The good thing was Reed left extremely detailed notes, but the issue still remained:

_**Just how was S.H.I.E.L.D. planning on powering this device?**_

**-Muir Island, Hangar-**

"Ah still don't think this is a good idea Charles,"

"Your objections have been noted, Sean." Charles Xavier runs through the pre-flight sequence on the small craft. It had been some time since he flew one of these but he imagined he shouldn't have an issue. "But flying is sort of like riding a bike-"

"Thas nae what I mean, Xavier and ye know it!"

"Sean…" Moira has listened to the two men argue somewhat non-stop for the last few days; she'd had enough. "Charles is gonnae do this and nothing either of us can say will stop him. So please, just let it go already!"

"No Moira, the man is clearly nae thinking!" Sean exclaims. "Have ye thought about the fact ye no longer look like yuirself? Or that you can walk again? Or that several people saw you die?"

"These are all concerns that can be explained-"

"And ye think they're gonna believe what ye have to say? Just take yuir word at face value? Or do ye plan on convincin' them in yuir own _**special way**_?"

"I don't appreciate the accusation-" Charles begins to argue, but changes his mind. "I understand your frustration is not directed at me, Sean. Perhaps once I return I can convince them to reveal the truth about you-"

"Ye think this is about me? Ye arrogant piece of-"

"Gentlemen this is going nowhere…" Moira interjects, stepping between Sean and Xavier. Sean took the death of his daughter hard. Black Tom, his brother, had kept her existence a secret so he never knew about her. Never knew he had a daughter until he was attending her funeral, in disguise. "Sean, please…"

Something in Moira's expression causes Sean to back down. "I've gotta check on Darwin anyway…" He starts to say something else to Xavier, but ends up just leaving the craft.

Moira waits until she's sure Sean has left the hangar before speaking. "He's right you know."

"I know." Charles admits with a sigh. Sean had only being saying all the things he himself had been thinking since the first day he woke up here. He just didn't like hearing his doubts in stereo.

"They've been through a lot this past year, maybe after those wounds have fully healed…" Moira offers.

"It's no good Moira." Charles shakes his head. "I'm sure I could build a great life for myself here. There are plenty of children to teach, to help; I could come to love it here."

"Then why-?"

"Because I don't belong here." Charles smiles bitterly. "You and Sean have something special here… _**together**_… I would only be in the way. Eventually you'd both end up hating me."

"Ye're being silly…"

"Easy enough for you to say now…" Xavier smiles at the woman who he once considered marrying. "But we both know I'm right. Now wish me a safe trip and go back to your fiancé."

Moira kisses Xavier warmly on the cheek. "Safe trip… ye stubborn bastard…"

"That's the girl from Dublin I know and love…"

**-Institute Kitchen-**

"Boo!"

"Hey babe," Aaron doesn't even turn around and Rachel crosses her arms angrily.

"I cut your brain off from your senses! I was practically invisible to you! How'd you know it was me?" Aaron had been working with her on how to hide from people with enhanced senses. She thought she had it down.

Aaron turns from the fridge holding a plum. He takes a bite before answering. "Couple things; first, my senses are always active so for them to suddenly _**not be**_ is a red flag. Second; I may not have been able to smell or hear you, but I could feel someone approaching not to mention the change in lighting in the room."

"What's the third thing?"

Aaron discards the plum and lifts Rachel onto the kitchen island. Finding a place between her legs he looks her in the eyes and smiles. "Bad guys don't say _**"boo"**_…"

Their lips less than a breath away, Rachel muses softly. "They don't…?"

"What is it with you two and the kitchen?"

Aaron looks over Rachel's shoulder to see Kitty and Bobby enter together. "I could ask you the same thing, Pryde, considering I run into you here just as often. At least this time you're not looking to raid Alison's chunky monkey stash."

Kitty frowns and looks at Bobby. "How does he always manage to get in the last dig?"

"He's had a lot more practice at being a jerk than you, sweetheart…" Bobby reassures his girlfriend with a kiss. "Aaron… you mind if we talk for a second…?"

Aaron notes Bobby's serious tone with curiosity. "Sure Drake, give me five minutes…"

**-Basketball courts-**

"What's going on here, Popsicle?" Aaron approaches Bobby from the grounds warily. He can tell that Bobby is tense and angry, though he has no idea why.

"Was this you?" Bobby whirls to face Aaron holding his phone up. On the screen is an article about two unidentified individuals breaking into the Fantastic Four headquarters. The picture showed Ben Grimm with heavy gauze around his eyes.

"Talk about milking it for the cameras…" Aaron grumbles. He knew sooner or later he would have to have this conversation with Bobby. He may tease him, but he knew that the leader of the New Mutants was no fool. "What do you wanna hear Drake?"

"That you_** haven't**_ infected the people here with your black ops mentality. That you've decided to do things _**our way**_ and not fallen back into old habits…"

Seeing the anger on Bobby's face Aaron takes a different approach. "There are things that need to be done, Bobby, things that are best done by those… who know how to do them…"

"And those you _**teach **_to do them, right?" His hands clenched at his sides, he feels himself getting angrier.

Aaron looks down at his rival/friends' hand and sees condensation begin to turn to frost. "You thinking of attacking me, Drake? That how we solve disagreements at this school? Punch them into agreement? Cause I can tell you, that is not gonna go the way either of us want it to…"

"You've got Scott keeping secrets from the rest of the school and forcing the rest of us to hide things from the people we love… now this… Ever since you got here there's been nothing but trouble…"

"Really?" Aaron snorts angrily. "Then you haven't been paying attention. If I hadn't been here, Vanessa would have completed her mission and the Sentinels would have attacked with knowledge on how to destroy you all. If I hadn't been here we wouldn't have Scott back or Marie. And if I hadn't been here Richards would have switched on his machine…" Aaron stops himself before he goes beyond anger. "Know what? This conversation is over."

Aaron turns to walk away but Bobby reaches out to grab him.

In an instant, Aaron whirls and tackles him to the blacktop, holding him by the throat. His claws are unsheathed in and pointed at his eyes.

"Finally showing your true colors, huh, _**Alpha**_?" Bobby gasps beneath his grip. Aaron hadn't meant to attack him, it was instinctive. Like putting your hands out to break your fall.

Before he can tell Bobby that, the two are separated by an unseen force. Aaron a little more forcibly as he ends up in the metal bleachers next to the court. "What are you doing?"

Aaron picks himself out of the bleachers Rachel just tossed him into and smiles. "Me and Drake here were just having a little_** conversation**_… ain't that right, Iceman?"

Bobby stands up, fully encasing his body in ice form. "Yeah, but I don't think we were done talking yet…"

"Yes you were!" Kitty yells standing next to Rachel in between the two men. "Whatever this was about- and I really don't think I wanna know- it's done."

"Is it, Iceman?" Aaron asks still poised to attack.

Although he doesn't power down, he nods. "Sure. Just a little misunderstanding… let's hug it out, bitch…" Bobby holds his arms out, still covered in ice.

Aaron unsheathes his claws and smiles. "Yeah… let's…"

**-Private study of Victor Von Doom-**

"So what do you think?"

"I think there are several potential candidates, but these two in particular would be the best…" Victor slides away from his desk to allow Maria Hill to look at his computer screen. On the display are the profiles for two mutants.

"Storm I understand, she controls the forces of nature and there is nothing more substantially powerful, but the other…?"

"If you have to ask, then you haven't read our friend Forge's notes completely…" Victor sighs in exasperation. "_**Rachel Grey, telekinetic and telepath, level four esper, at her baseline level. She is able to tap into the cosmic entity known as the Phoenix Force. This fundamental power source exponentially increases Rachel's natural abilities a thousand fold, allowing her access to unlimited reserves of power. The energy output equals that of a large star similar to a sun. Has not shown conscious control of this yet, but with training it could be possible...**_ Are you getting a clearer picture now, Agent Hill?"

She ignores his condescending tone and smiles radiantly. Here was the solution to her problem, her way of bringing order back to the chaos. Now all she had to do was bring him here and everything could be like it was.

"So how do we go about bringing them in?"

Victor stands from his seat and begins pacing. "Your organization cannot be directly involved in this; the less you know the better."

"Better for whom, Victor?" Hill did not want this opportunity slipping past her and she knew that Victor wanted her in the dark as much as possible. She had risked a lot in this partnership; she was not going to let him simply reap all the rewards.

"You are right to fear me cutting you out, but I made a vow to you and I always keep my word." Victor answers as if this should be sufficient enough.

"You gave your word to Trask too… should I plan on you keeping your word to me in the same way?"

"I told Trask I would help him with his project; I never intimated to him that he should be alive at its completion…"

**-Institute infirmary-**

"I can't believe you two!" Rachel had wanted to separate the two of them, as she had before, but the way they were going at it, it would have done more harm than good. She knew in her heart that Aaron wouldn't seriously hurt Bobby intentionally, but she wasn't sure about any accidental damage.

"He started it!" Aaron laughs from his position at the doorway. Amidst the scuffle that ensued, Bobby gave as good as he got. The only problem being of course that he did not have a healing factor like Aaron.

"Do I look like I'm laughing, Aaron?" Rachel asks sharply, bandaging Bobby's left arm, while Kitty attends to his right. Outside of some bumps and bruises Bobby would be fine. There was a gash on his left arm and sprained wrist to deal with, but nothing serious.

"Neither am I… _**well I am**_… but not because anything is funny." Aaron walks over to the three of them and stares at Bobby hard. "We're going to have several conversations like this during the course of my time here, aren't we?"

"Not like_** this**_ no," Bobby smiles through a split lip. "But yes, you and I _**will**_ talk again."

"Ugh! I don't get you two! One minute you're best friends, the next you're friendly rivals now you're enemies? Why don't you make up your minds?" Kitty shoves Aaron backwards, protecting her man.

Aaron's next words surprise them all. "Because we are _**all **_those things and more, Kitty. Isn't that the way it is with all brothers?"

Bobby studies Aaron's face to see if he's joking. He sees no sign of humor. "I have a brother and we never- Rachel?"

Rachel begins rubbing her temple. "I'm fine I just… something is… something is… off…"

_**Do you feel it Rachel?**_

_**Yes, m- Jean… what is this…?**_

_**I'm not sure… Betsy?**_

_**You guys are probably getting it worse than me… my telepathy isn't as highly developed as yours…**_

_**As evidenced by your exchange with Alison this afternoon…**_

_**Easy Red, I've made my peace and I plan on making it up to her as well… but this… this is strange…**_

_**Yeah, it's like some kinda static or something…**_

"Uh… is she like… talking to someone…?"

Aaron nods. "Yeah, you know how telepaths are; they completely forget there are other people in the room…" Aaron could sense that there was a conversation going on, but only in the way you can hear whispers in another room. His rapport with Rachel was strong, but he still couldn't listen in on these types of conversations.

_**What do you think it is?**_

_**If I have to guess…?**_

_**Well a guess is all we got…**_

_**Then you're outta luck, cause I have no clue…**_

_**A/N: But I bet YOU do! Hahahahahahahaha! Next up, the REAL return! Maria Hill reveals her real plan and mentoring is fun… sorta…**_


End file.
